Poverty is the latest focus of a new group that has launched with the aim of reducing and eradicating the issue in Norfolk.  

The Norfolk Anti-Poverty Alliance, led by David Powles, was created after a cost-of-living emergency was declared in autumn 2022 by the Norfolk Community Advice Network (NCAN).  

The alliance consists of groups and individuals involved in the fight against this issue, including Jade Hunter (the headteacher at West Earlham Infant & Nursery School), charities and groups, and politicians such as Lord John Bird.  

Powles says that “too many people in Norwich go without basic needs and there is a rising rate of food insecurity.”  

He goes on to say that Norfolk Anti-Poverty Alliance are united in tackling poverty in Norfolk with bold, coordinated change.  

According to Norfolk Insight, 130,000 people in the region live in areas classed as the most deprived 20 per cent in England.  

Yet, one important part of poverty is student poverty.  

According to a study by the Russell Group, one in four students regularly go without food and other essentials. Which then becomes three in ten for students from the poorest economic backgrounds.  

Furthermore, students in the UK are, on average, living just £2 per week above the destitution line, meaning that they struggle to access basic needs to live on.  

In this Russell Group report, over half (54 per cent) of those in further education had reported academic performance had suffered because of poverty and the cost of being a student.  

18 per cent of students have considered dropping out due to financial reasons.  

Lord Bird, who’s been fighting poverty for years, said in an exclusive interview after the event that “More and more people are being drawn into the centre of poverty.”  

He went on to talk about the lack of opportunities after university and life after, saying the amount of people that don’t get a job but have debt is a big issue.  

Bird said that despite not knowing if anyone has done any major work to change the situation for students, he said that “the National Union of Students (NUS) have done good work about student poverty.”  

The NUS have organised multiple campaigns and studies on how the cost of living for students has worsened and its impact on young people.  

With studies showing that a third of students are living on less than £50 per month after paying rent and bills, according to the NUS.  

The NUS found this also has a “devastating impact on wellbeing”.  

90 per cent of students said the problem has affected their mental health, with 31 per cent reporting it to have a “major” impact.  

While the government launched a strategy to tackle child poverty in October 2024 and announced plans to increase the base level of Universal Credit over the next few years, there doesn’t seem to be a plan to tackle the crisis faced by students.