One in four Sheffielders now live in poverty - report
New figures have revealed a big gap in life expectancy between different parts of the city
Poverty is “moving in the wrong direction in Sheffield”, says the city’s director of public health.
Greg Fell has focused on the issue in his 2024 annual report, which says that one in four Sheffielders now live in poverty. It has some of the most deprived neighbourhoods in the country – such as Parson Cross, Shirecliffe, Tinsley and Darnall – as well as some of the most affluent.
An often-quoted indicator shows that life expectancy for people living along the 83 bus route drops by 10 years between well-off Fulwood and deprived Burngreave – from 87.2 to 77.7 years for women.
Sheffield also has a higher child poverty rate than the national average.
An estimated 47,500 people in Sheffield have ‘negative budgets’, where they can’t afford their living costs even after debt advisors have given
them all the help they’re entitled to, the report states.
More Sheffielders need help from food banks but this is becoming harder to obtain because less food is being donated. Many food businesses are tackling food waste for economic and environmental reasons, the report says.
People living in poverty spend more of their life in poor health and die younger than others who are more well off. As well as causing physical and mental health problems, it makes it difficut to obtain the essentials for maintaining a healthy life, such as nutritious food.
The increasing cost of living has put extra pressure on people who were already struggling to make ends meet, especially those hit by benefit cuts or freezes. People living in poverty are now more likely to go without enough food or heating.
Working in low-paid or insecure jobs affects people’s ability to access healthcare or attend appointments. This situation is worsened by NHS waiting lists.
Mr Fell said in the foreword to his report: “At its heart, poverty means not being able to afford essential goods and services and waking up each day facing insecurity, uncertainty, and the relentless stress that accompanies this. It limits choices, marginalises individuals, and exposes them to discrimination.
“Society frequently frames poverty in terms of personal responsibility, but people exercise agency within constraints—structural barriers, societal norms, and environmental conditions. Poverty is almost always a result of systemic issues, not individual choices.”
Mr Fell added: “The poverty statistics for Sheffield, as in much of the UK, are moving in the wrong direction. Whether measured by absolute terms (the number of people in destitution) or relative terms (not having enough to live like most others in the community), the situation is worsening.
“The proportion of the population living in poverty has risen steeply over the last decade, and poverty is becoming more entrenched. Destitution, in particular, is rising at the fastest rate.”
He said that poverty disproportiately affects children, as well as minoritised ethnic groups, disabled people, informal carers, large families, refugees and asylum seekers, families on benefits and young people living independently.
“Alarmingly, many people in work are also in poverty,” said Mr Fell. “Nationally,
the social security safety net has been eroded, with £50 billion less spent now
than in 2010, and benefits failing to keep pace with inflation.”
He pointed to the need for national strategies and small targeted changes, including adjustments to the benefits system.
Mr Fell added that the report is a statement of intent as well as a call to action: “Let us move forward with determination, compassion, and a commitment to creating a city where no-one is left behind.”