North left behind in unequal England says charity

A study by the Church Urban Fund (CUF) found the country’s 10 poorest communities are all in the North of England, while eight of the 10 least-deprived can be found in the South.

In Sheffield, the report found that a third of parishes are within the most deprived 10 per cent in the country. In Bradford the figure was one in five.

Wheldrake in York was one of only two parishes in the North of England to have made it into the top 10 least-deprived list.

Paul Hackwood, chairman of the CUF trustees, said: “We live in one of the most unequal countries in the western world, where babies born within a few miles of one another can have widely differing life expectancies of 10 years or more.”

The findings were calculated at Church of England parish level, with an online method devised by the fund using data on life expectancy and poverty rates among children, pensioners and people of working age.

The research showed life expectancy for men in South Shore, Blackpool, is as low as 66, and that 62 per cent of children and 52 per cent of pensioners are living in poverty in Toxteth (East) Liverpool – ranked the most deprived community in the country.

That compared with Camberley Heatherside, in Surrey, where only six per cent of children and three per cent of pensioners are living in poverty, the research showed.

The CUF has now launched a website where people can view their own parish’s rating.

“We urge people to go online and try out the tool and find out where their local community ranks,” Mr Hackwood said.

“We hope it will create a much greater awareness of poverty in England and bring people from affluent and less affluent areas together to think about what could be done to support those that are living in poverty.”