‘Pretty Poverty’ Report Recommendations to Government to correct the failings of the current funding models  

Released: 13.11.25

‘Pretty Poverty’ Report Recommendations to Government to correct the failings of the current funding models   

Findings from Plymouth Marjon University’s The Pretty Poverty Report (2025) have been raised with Ministers as the new October 2025 Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government Indices of Deprivation 2025 (IoD 2025) attempts to address the realities of rural deprivation.  

The Pretty Poverty Report demonstrated failures in the Indices of Multiple Deprivation 2019 (IMD 2019) to measure rural deprivation. Used by successive governments, the IMD 2019 represented urban experiences of deprivation. The new measure of deprivation, IoD 2025, was anticipated to have addressed issues of rural deprivation representation, however it does not act to the extent the report recommends.  

The study is a result of an 18-month research project, led by Professor Tanya Ovenden-Hope, with researchers Victoria Brown and Elpida Achtaridou, from Plymouth Marjon University, funded primarily by the Diocese of Truro. The report uses Cornwall as a case study to highlight how a picturesque rural and coastal landscape attractive to tourists can mask pockets of local deprivation exacerbated by a measure designed for densely populated areas.     

After a successful launch in Cornwall, Perran Moon, MP for Camborne, Redruth and Hayle, has raised the findings of the Report with Government Ministers, including DEFRA Secretary Steve Reed and Heidi Alexander, Secretary of State for Transport, to specifically address transport dependency, which was highlighted in The Pretty Poverty Report as the most significant barrier to reducing levels of rural deprivation. An area of focus for discussions with Ministers is the consideration of the necessity of car ownership, and the costs associated with this, as a key challenge for rural places.   

Several of The Pretty Poverty Report recommendations are considered in the new Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government IoD 2025. These recommendations included recognition of seasonal employment insecurity, which has in part been identified by a new 12 months of benefits claims data rather than a single snapshot in August; as well as the move for universal claimants’ income that falls below 70% median AFTER housing costs.  

You can read the full report on our website.