Poverty Truth Commission

What was the impact?

How the Ilfracombe Poverty Truth Commission has influenced positive change

1. A step‑change in how poverty is understood locally

One of the clearest and most consistently evidenced impacts of the Ilfracombe PTC is a shift in understanding among senior leaders and institutions.

The Commission deliberately brings together:

• people with lived experience of poverty ("community commissioners"), and
• senior leaders from Devon County Council, NHS organisations, housing, education, DWP, police and VCSE partners ("civic commissioners"),

to work as equals over an extended period of relationship‑building and shared sense‑making. [onenorther…evon.co.uk], [devoncf.com]

Evidence from Devon Community Foundation and One Northern Devon shows that this process:

• exposed how rigid eligibility criteria, fragmented pathways and "door‑closed" responses were unintentionally creating harm;
• helped civic leaders develop a more precise, human understanding of how poverty is experienced day‑to‑day in Ilfracombe;
• reframed poverty as a systemic issue, rather than an individual failure. [onenorther…evon.co.uk]

This change in understanding is repeatedly referenced by participants as foundational, even before service changes follow.

2. Influence on leadership behaviour and institutional culture

Local reporting and participant reflections show that the Commission has influenced how leaders show up, not just what they decide.

At the launch and subsequent events, senior council and health leaders publicly acknowledged:

• that services often send people "round in circles";
• that listening to lived experience had challenged professional assumptions;
• that quick fixes and top‑down solutions were insufficient for complex poverty issues. [northdevon…ette.co.uk]

This matters because:

• the Commission explicitly prioritises deep listening and relationship‑building before action;
• leaders are expected to remain involved over many months, not as one‑off consultees;
• this has legitimised a more reflective, relational leadership stance locally.

This is an example of cultural change, rather than immediate programme redesign.

3. Concrete changes in local activity and provision

While the PTC is not a delivery programme, there is evidence of practical changes emerging from the process.

Exeter universities evaluation, BBC and partner reporting confirms that the Commission has:

• Housing: A Healthy Homes retrofit specification was co-designed for 4 buildings purchased by the council for conversion from low quality HMOs to quality social housing. The architect used this to design a 'home' to serve residents' physical, mental & social needs. Conversion takes place in 2026. A Landlord's Charter was created involving local landlords & letting agencies to improve conditions for people living in poor quality private rented accommodation.  
• Adult education and skills‑based activities were re‑established in Ilfracombe (including art, carpentry and food‑based groups) for the first time in over 20 years. DWP extended Jobcentre outreach. "What a difference it's made being able to access this… If it wasn't for the poverty truth commission… I (wouldn't) have just passed my first exam."  
• Ilfracombe 'Campus': The Commission created a model that positions Ilfracombe services as an integrated network of support with alternative offers of support when a person is not eligible. This model is being used as a pilot in the NHS within neighbourhood health planning.   
• 'Humanise Principles' were co-designed for organisations to adopt enabling organisations to consider whether their services are accessible to disadvantaged people, compassionate & 'human'. These are now included in Devon Public Health's Substance Use competitive process.  
• Development of staff resources: Improve understanding & reduce stigma of poverty, including a video shared widely across strategic networks. Staff from North Devon Homes (our trial site) have reported feeling better equipped to understand customers – directly reducing frustration for residents and preventing avoidable escalation.  
• Impact on the individuals: supported community‑led activity that has improved mental wellbeing and social connection for participants. "Participants talked about how they could see how their lives connected together, the need for relationships, the value of conversation"; "Participants learned about the challenges and constraints in different sectors".

These are modest in scale but important in character:

• they were co‑designed with community commissioners;
• they respond directly to lived experience rather than predefined service models;
• they sit outside traditional referral‑driven systems.

4. Improved cross‑system relationships in the town

Multiple sources highlight that one of the Commission's strongest effects has been on relationships between organisations.

The PTC brought together partners who do not routinely work in the same space, including:

• health providers,
• local authority services,
• schools,
• housing,
• police,
• VCSE organisations.

Evidence from One Northern Devon and North Devon Homes indicates that:

• trust between organisations has strengthened;
• there is greater willingness to collaborate informally;
• partners have a shared language for discussing poverty and system barriers. [onenorther…evon.co.uk], [North Devon Homes]

This relational infrastructure is often invisible in formal reporting but is repeatedly cited as a precondition for longer‑term change.

5. Legitimising lived experience in decision‑making

Perhaps the most distinctive impact of the Ilfracombe PTC is the way it has legitimised lived experience as a form of expertise.

The Commission is explicit that:

• people with lived experience are not consultees or case studies;
• they are commissioners, shaping priorities and decisions;
• civic leaders are accountable to remain present and listen. [devoncf.com], [mentalheal…evon.co.uk]

This has led to:

• greater confidence among community commissioners to speak into public and institutional spaces;
• recognition by leaders that policy and service design without lived experience input risks harm;
• interest from partners in applying similar approaches elsewhere in Devon.

6. Creating the conditions for longer‑term change

It is important to be clear about what the evidence does not yet show.

There is no claim that the PTC has:

• reduced poverty rates,
• transformed service outcomes at scale,
• or delivered system‑wide redesign within a short period.

What the evidence does support is that the Ilfracombe PTC has:

• altered mindsets,
• reshaped relationships,
• surfaced system behaviours that create poverty traps,
• and created a platform for more credible, grounded action over time. [devoncf.com]

This aligns with how Poverty Truth Commissions nationally describe their purpose: not rapid fixes, but durable change rooted in relationship and understanding.

In summary

Based on the available evidence, the Ilfracombe Poverty Truth Commission has influenced positive change in Ilfracombe by:

• deepening and humanising understanding of poverty among decision‑makers;
• changing leadership behaviour and institutional culture;
• enabling small but meaningful changes in local activity;
• strengthening cross‑system relationships;
• embedding lived experience as legitimate expertise.

Its impact is best understood as foundational and enabling, rather than transactional or outcome‑driven. The Commission has shifted how the town understands and responds to poverty — which, in complex systems, is often the necessary first step toward sustainable change.