This week’s Independent R&B Monday Discussion Group gathered to explore the newly released English Indices of Deprivation, with a lively and often sobering conversation ranging from coastal poverty to housing costs, data-sharing barriers and the rising strain on councils.
Malcolm Gardner welcomed attendees and introduced the focus for the day. With the Budget only two weeks away, he set the stage by highlighting the headline finding that Tendring 018A in Jaywick remains England’s most deprived neighbourhood for a fourth consecutive cycle.
How Local Authorities Are Using Deprivation Data
Several participants shared how the new figures feed into local analysis:
- Michael Fisher explained that his council had a corporate leadership session dedicated to the indices, particularly concerned that the new after-housing-costs measure may reduce grant allocations for northern authorities where rents are lower.
- Julie Smethurst added that their policy team had circulated analysis internally, ensuring the organisation understood the implications.
- Naomi Armstrong highlighted the contrasting pressures in Cambridge, where pockets of deprivation coexist with high earners, many of whom do not live locally due to post-pandemic shifts in working patterns.
- Gareth Morgan drew attention to perhaps the biggest methodological shift: the inclusion of disposable income after housing costs, which finally provides a clearer picture of real living standards in high-rent areas.
The London Perspective
Kirsty Brooksmith (H&F) noted that the indices now regularly feature London boroughs at the top of the child poverty rankings. Sean O’Sullivan went further, pointing out that boroughs such as Hammersmith & Fulham, Brent and Westminster are likely to challenge the new data because the methodology still fails to account for the true cost of living in London.
Housing Costs and the Logic Behind “After Housing Costs”
A lively debate unfolded around whether housing costs should sit inside or outside deprivation metrics:
- Rachel Walker questioned the logic of excluding housing costs from core measures when housing is the largest bill households face.
- Gareth countered that separating housing costs helps highlight disposable income more clearly, while Sean noted that essential items cost significantly more in some urban areas, amplifying hardship even where incomes look adequate on paper.
Why Are Seaside Towns Still So Poor?
The group reflected on Jaywick and other struggling coastal communities:
- Bob Wagstaff argued that England’s most deprived areas fall into three historic categories: former industrial towns, former Victorian urban cores, and – crucially – coastal communities whose traditional economic bases have collapsed.
- Michael Fisher, speaking from long personal experience in Morecambe, described how deregulation in the 1980s turned large areas into bedsit districts, entrenching deprivation for decades.
- Sean O’Sullivan noted that Jaywick’s decline was not accidental: the area was intentionally repurposed as low-cost accommodation, accelerating socio-economic challenges.
- Malcolm pointed out the effects of both geography and climate change: many coastal towns suffer from isolation, weak transport links and increasingly unreliable flood defences.
Policy Lessons – or Missed Opportunities?
The conversation turned to what lessons should be drawn:
- Gareth argued that only major investment can shift deeply rooted deprivation. Small initiatives cannot overcome decades of structural decline.
- Paul Howarth added that many of these areas suffer not from a lack of ideas but from a lack of vision. Without a compelling national strategy, they will be left to drift.
- Rachel noted that high deprivation aligns closely with support for Reform UK, arguing that some political actors benefit from perpetuating decline.
Is Reform Offering Solutions?
Participants debated whether Reform-led councils can deliver improvements:
- Rachel argued that Reform relies on scarcity and disillusionment for its political narrative.
- Sean reminded the group that MPs themselves have limited power over local regeneration and that political control in many of these places remains unstable or mixed.
- Malcolm raised the challenge Reform will face next April when council tax rises despite promises to reduce it.
Local Government Under Strain
Kirsty Brooksmith captured the mood of many officers nationwide. Council leaders continue to set ambitious demands but underestimate the lack of resources and exhausted workforce delivering them:
“We can’t keep putting sticking plasters on. We’re getting very close to collapse.”
Slides shared in parallel – covering homelessness, SEND and social care – reinforced this point.
Appeals, Trust and a “Post-Truth” Culture
Turning to appeals and administration:
- Julie Smethurst reported a growing willingness among appellants to “bend the truth”, though councils now have better tools to verify claims.
- Ian Savigar (Reading) added that appellants increasingly escalate cases through politicians or external advocates, even when the decision is correct.
- Rachel warned that designing systems around suspicion risks harming genuine claimants:
“We’re at risk of designing processes based on the thin end of the wedge.”
Both she and Julie agreed that better data-sharing and proactive auto-awarding could transform how councils support vulnerable households.
Why Some Residents Resist Regeneration
Sean O’Sullivan offered a sharp insight into why regeneration is sometimes opposed locally:
- Investment often leads to gentrification rather than lifting existing residents out of poverty.
- Rising prices, rising rents and a widening LHA gap often push long-term residents out of newly improved areas.
A Closing Reflection
The session ended where it began: acknowledging that deprivation is not inevitable, but progress requires clarity, investment and political honesty.
Paul Howarth urged political leaders to articulate a real strategy.
Sean stressed the need for data-sharing to target support effectively.
Kirsty, Julie, Ian and others underlined the growing fragility of local systems.
Malcolm Gardner closed the session with thanks to all contributors and a note that the group will revisit poverty trends in Scotland and the devolved nations in a future meeting.
The Independent Revenues & Benefits Discussion Group continues to provide a vital forum for expert analysis, shared learning, and open debate at a time of significant policy flux.
For more information or to join future sessions, contact Malcolm Gardner at Visionary Network. info@visionarynetwork.co.uk