CASW Launches New Report on 'Rural Poverty' across South Warwickshire

Share This:

03 November 2025

Citizens Advice South Warwickshire (CASW) Research & Campaigns Team, today launches new community focused, evidence driven and action oriented local research on poverty across South Warwickshire. The report is entitled, ‘The Enhanced Rural Poverty Premium: how rural and urban poverty premiums intersect’ and can be found by clicking here.

Authored by volunteer researcher Zoe Leask, from the organisation’s ‘Student Intelligence Unit’, this report investigates the hypothesis that established rural and poverty premiums compound such that the ”rural poor” suffer a harsher ‘cost-of-living’ premium than the “urban poor”. She has termed this the ‘enhanced rural poverty premium’ (ERPP).

This hypothesis was tested in South Warwickshire, across Stratford on Avon and Warwick Districts, using primary field research and current Citizens Advice data from seven deprived areas (four rural, three urban).

To study how the prices of goods vary between deprived rural and urban areas, prices for 25 essential food and hygiene items were recorded per unit at local general stores. Lower-end quantities of goods were used to reflect the poverty premium.

Separately, desk research analysed spending data from 31 debt-affected clients who contacted Citizens Advice South Warwickshire in recent months. This studied expenses that couldn’t be measured in shop visits. Because all the clients were struggling with debt, their spending gives a good picture of how the poverty premium affects the costs of everyday needs.

The field research found that low-income rural consumers faced higher prices for 24 of 25 items; 17 cost at least 20% more. Toiletries averaged 47.7% higher. The average price increase across the basket was 27%. Only half the rural shops stocked the full basket, while all urban ones did.

Desk research revealed that low-income rural households generally spent more on utilities, mobile phones, and especially transport, home phone, internet, and TV packages. It also confirmed field findings on groceries and toiletries.

The results’ consistency suggests rural and poverty premiums intersect to create deeper disadvantages experienced exclusively by rural residents in poverty — the ERPP. These could be linked to lacking infrastructure. Further research is needed to fully confirm this, and to determine whether the same problem exists elsewhere, to what extent, and to explore its causes.

There are several bodies we recommend carry out larger more detailed research exercises into the ERPP elsewhere. They include the following:

Select Committee on Work and Pensions. This committee is the best candidate to conduct a detailed, country-wide investigation, ideally via a public call for evidence.
Rural Services Network (RSN). The RSN represents rural local authorities and studied the rural premium before others, making them well-suited to conduct similar research into the ERPP.
All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Rural Services. This APPG has previously produced strong research on rural economic challenges. They are strongly placed to undertake this research themselves or encourage the Select Committee on Work and Pensions to do so.
APPG on Rural Business and the Rural Powerhouse. Absent commitments from bodies referenced above, it would be appropriate for this committee to build upon this report’s findings.
Rural Issues Group within Citizens Advice. This group is well placed to promote this work within Citizens Advice and promote further research locally and/or nationally.

If replicated nationally, these findings should inform the design and delivery of cost-of-living policies across the board so that for rural and semi-rural areas they are rural-specific, rather than reflect a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to poverty prevention and mitigation.

For those interested in discussing the findings of this research further, or anyone having difficulty using the link to the research report, contact Ed Hodson (Research & Campaigns Lead) in the first instance at ed.hodson@casouthwarwickshire.org.uk .

End.

Read other news articles