Poverty Truth Commission

Like other Poverty Truth Commissions, Poverty Truth Ilfracombe seeks to discover the answer to the question, ‘what if people who struggled against poverty were involved in making decisions about tackling poverty?’

The commissioners for each Commission comprise two groups of people. Around half of the commissioners are people with a lived experience of the struggle against poverty. The other half are senior leaders from Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, NHS Devon, Devon Public Health, North Devon Homes, Devon County Council, Devon Partnership Trust, The Department for Work and Pensions (Jobcentre), Ilfracombe Academy, Ilfracombe Junior school, North Devon District Council, One Ilfracombe, Devon and Cornwall Police. Collectively they work to understand the nature of poverty, what are some of the underlying issues that create poverty and explore creative ways of addressing them.

For more information see our aims and objectives

Our Understanding of Poverty

What has been done?

The Ilfracombe Poverty Truth Commission (PTC) has demonstrated what genuine partnership looks like when public services, VCSE & residents with lived experience of poverty work side‑by‑side as equals.  

Royal Devon NHS Trust (RDUH) initiated the PTC in response to rising levels of poverty, deepening health inequalities, & increasing numbers of people falling between services in Ilfracombe. Traditional pathways failed to reach those with the most complex lives, contributing to avoidable demand in the NHS. A new model was needed – one rooted in understanding, trust & shared responsibility. 

We brought together 12 people with lived experience ('Community Commissioners') & 12 leaders of organisations (Civic Commissioners) to form the PTC. The civic leaders came from NHS acute, community & mental health providers and commissioners plus public health, housing, social housing, DWP, police & education providers. As the PTC agreed their priorities other relevant stakeholders, including adult social care & other VCSE organisations were invited & helped co-develop proposals. This was how the PTC was launched (see video below).  

Over 12 months, we worked with community commissioners to share their experiences during joint problem‑solving sessions. Rather than design solutions for communities, the PTC enabled us to co‑design with the people most affected. 

Through the process, partners uncovered system behaviours that were unintentionally creating harm:  rigid eligibility criteria, a culture of "door closed" responses & fragmented services that left people repeating their stories and not getting the support they need. Together, Commissioners developed a model for a different way of working: flexible, relational & built on the principle 'nothing about us, without us, is for us'. They also worked on specific challenges the Community Commissioners identified about lack of access to the basic building blocks of health such as adequate housing & education opportunities.  

Poverty Truth Ilfracombe Launch Video – September 2024

Featured on BBC Spotlight, BBC News & BBC Radio Devon in March 2026

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.

What did we learn?

What happens next?

The PTC pledged support to continue & embed the work. The relationships & principles they developed will help change the way in which people work together, continuing to inform decisions both within Ilfracombe and across the County.  

The next phase of the Ilfracombe PTC (2026) will embed the work locally through One Ilfracombe (multi-sector partnership forum) & scale through the Local Care Partnership (One Northern Devon).  For more info see 'what next? Embed phase 2026'.

Each Commission product has a designated Poverty Truth Champion (Civic Commissioner) responsible for implementation. The PTC will continue to meet quarterly throughout 2026 to maintain momentum, accountability & shared problem‑solving. 

There is a strong collective desire and momentum for continued codesign to deliver a system better aligned to the realities of people's lives. 

Several elements are already secured for delivery: 

Adult education funded by Devon Council for next 12 months, enabling continued outreach to residents furthest from employment and learning. 

Landlord charter: District Council will finalise the Landlords Charter to strengthen standards in the private rented sector. 

Campus model vision: One Ilfracombe partners are now taking this forward through operational groups, improving coordination, access and frontline practice. 

Humanise principles: embedded in Public Health Devon commissioning to guide relational, dignity‑based service design. 

Staff development resources: being built into induction and CPD by Devon ICB and the Royal Devon University NHS Trust to sustain culture change. 

System partners have committed to spreading learning more widely, including through the Faculty of Public Health Devon, the Devon Health Inequalities Symposium, NHS meetings & partnership forums. 

Through participation, all partners learnt a great deal. These approaches are now positioned for wider adoption, ensuring more residents, communities & staff benefit from this trust‑building, prevention‑focused and partnership‑led approach. 

Hearing from a Civic Commissioner

Sonja Manton (Deputy CEO and Director of strategy and partnerships) share why she got involved, what she learned and the changes she hoped would happen as a result of being involved. This video was created and shared for an ‘all staff’ meeting within her organisation Devon Partnership NHS Trust.

More info