Poverty Truth Commission

What is a Poverty Truth Commission?

‘Nothing about us, without us, is for us,’ is the ethos of every Poverty Truth Commission. The idea is simple; that lasting social change only happens when those who experience the struggle participate in generating that change.

A Poverty Truth Commission begins by putting those with direct experience of poverty first, and asking them to share their knowledge about what’s truly needed to make change. These people are known as Community commissions who build strong connections with Civic commissioners, who are local leaders in the city on many of the services and decisions which affect people's lives.

Why is it important?

Because it is important to hear from those people who have direct experience of poverty, whose voices are not always heard.

But if you'd like some stats:

• According to the Indices of Multiple Deprivation, Peterborough has some of the most deprived neighbourhoods in the country, with Central, Dogsthorpe, and North being particularly deprived.
• By the same measure, Peterborough as a whole is the worst 10% of the country for Education and Skills, Crime, and Housing.
• Constituency level data shows that Child poverty is increasing, data from 2014 to 2020 shows relative child poverty going from 28.2% to 34.7% in Peterborough.

Do you think any of these issues have gotten better with the cost of living crisis?

Cheryl Mcguire - Civic and Business Facilitator

James Farson - Community Facilitator