De Montfort University is a global academic hub chair and as such publishes a progress report on both the individual United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as well as a comprehensive report on all the goals.
Our 2025 report will show what the university has been doing in terms of research, teaching, partnerships and engagement in helping to meet those targets and raising awareness of the progress towards the 2030 aims.
This is the progress report for SDG 1 No Poverty. The full report on all the SDGs can be viewed here.
UN PROGRESS REPORT ON SDG 1 in 2025
RECENT crises have stalled progress, with the burden falling heavily on sub-Saharan Africa and conflict-affected regions. None of the targets set for the 2030 deadline are on track to be met and this is one of the poorest performing SDGs.
Latest figures estimate that by 2020 moderate progress will be made on 15% of the targets, 70% will show marginal progress but 15% will have actually regressed on the benchmark set in 2015.
The UN 2025 report states: “Without a significant acceleration in efforts, 8.9 per cent of the global population will still be living in extreme poverty by 2030, under the revised international poverty line. Similarly, at the current trajectory, only 1 in 5 countries are projected to have halved its national poverty by 2030.
“For the first time on record, over half of the world’s population now receives at least one form of social protection benefit. Despite this milestone, 3.8 billion people remain uncovered.”
MAJOR DMU NEWS ON SDG 1 IN 2025
Shocking true picture of child homelessness in Scotland revealed in new research
GROUND-BREAKING research co-led by experts from De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) has exposed the harms caused to children who are forced to live in temporary accommodation in Scotland.
The project, carried out jointly between DMU and University College London (UCL) for housing charity Shelter Scotland, set out to understand childrens’ own experiences of living in the temporary accommodation system in Scotland, and the impact this has on wellbeing, education, and opportunities late in life.
DMU hosts conference showing true picture of poverty in Leicester
THE “devastating” challenge of living in poverty has been highlighted at a conference held by De Montfort University Leicester (DMU).
Experts, charity workers and campaigners gathered on campus for a series of workshops and discussions which laid bare the real and growing financial struggles felt across Leicester.
Ivan Browne, Professor of Public Health and Social Determinants of Health at DMU, said that the issue was most affecting children with more than 50% of Leicester's children are affected by deprivation in Leicester.
DMU students breathe new life into old objects in sustainable fashion collaboration
FASHION students from DMU have breathed new life into old objects as part of a sustainable fashion collaboration with Age UK.
The ‘Refound’ project involved students from DMU’s BA in Fashion Communication and Styling imagining and creating new futures for objects they found at the charity’s shop on Hotel Street in the city.
MAJOR DMU RESEARCH ON SDG 1 IN 2025
Mapping in-work poverty and debt in Leicester: An insight into its scale, antecedents, challenges and solution
Igudia, E., Dalziel, N. and Cartwright, E. (2025)
IN-WORK poverty (IWP) is prevalent in East Midlands with consequences for individuals and the regional economy.
Accounting for more than half of child poverty, IWP is a critical issue that needs urgent attention. IWP is likely to become more acute during rising cost and economic crisis.
Yet, it’s not widely known or measured in the UK. Therefore, in this report, we present a summary of findings from our research, which mapped IWP in Leicester and offer insights into its scope, antecedents, challenges and the ways in which we can support people who are subject to IWP.
Mapping in-work poverty and debt in Leicester: An insight into its scale, antecedents, challenges and solution
From food emergency to poverty prevention: The changing function of food banks in Leicester
Arrieta T and Davies J S (2025)
WHILE food banks continue to support people with the provision of emergency food parcels, they increasingly support the prevention of poverty in different ways.
Poverty prevention refers to the wide range of functions that food banks are undertaking in relation to social welfare, including employability and financial management support. T
he increased need that the city has experienced recently, in particular after the Covid19 pandemic, led to the development of the Leicester Food Partnership (LFP), an informal arrangement between 22 food banks. This policy brief focuses on the LFP and its poverty prevention work in local communities.
https://doi.org/10.25392/leicester.data.27304020
Foodbanks in Leicester
Igudia E., Dalziel, N., and Cartwright, E. (2025)
FOODBANKS play a crucial in our society. For example, during periods of rising cost and economic crisis studies have reported a significant increase in the use of foodbanks.
Not only that, there are suggestions that some foodbanks offer a diverse range of services. However, significant differences exist in both the offerings and quality of services rendered by foodbanks.
This makes it imperative for a deeper study to better understand the level and quality of foodbank offerings in Leicester. In this report, we present a summary of the findings from the interviews and focus group meetings we undertook across seven foodbanks in Leicester.
Foodbank Operations in Leicester
The Limits of the Possible: Third Sector Employability Support for Vulnerable Users and the Challenge of Job Quality
Payne, J., Rose, J. and Butler, P. (2025)
MANY third-sector organisations (TSOs) deliver employability support for vulnerable groups, but can they address the quality of jobs their users enter?
The question is timely in the UK, given structural constraints presented by its neoliberal labour market and welfare regime, and the new Labour Government’s aim of moving job centres towards a supportive approach focused on ‘good work’.
An interesting comparison emerges with Scotland, where ‘fair work’ is more established in policy.
https://doi.org/10.1111/spol.13162
The Impact of Announcing a Payment Assistance Program on UK Household Water Consumption: A Regression Discontinuity Analysis
Tyllianakis, E., Rigas, N., and Kounetas, K. (2025)
INFORMATION campaigns aimed at social norms are a mainstay tool for utilities. The announcement effect of such policies is usually ignored in favour of ex-post examinations of campaigns' outcomes.
This paper examines the effects of announcing a ‘help-to-pay’ program from a United Kingdom (UK) water utility company for households facing a uniform price for water.
This study uses data for around 6000 Yorkshire Water households between 2018 and 2020, adopting cross-sectional Regression Discontinuity (RD) and regression approaches.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jup.2025.101981
Community resilience to flooding in the UK: A study of Matlock, Derbyshire
McKie, R.E and Aitken, A (2025)
THE United Kingdom has faced recurring floods since 2019, with 5.2 million homes at risk.
This has prompted the UK government to prioritise resilience planning in flood prone areas. This study focuses on community resilience in Matlock, Derbyshire, which has experienced intensified flooding since 2018.
Using qualitative interviews and a focus group, the research examines evidence of community resilience and the barriers to its development by focusing on community activities during flooding incidents.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2025.105266
SDG 1 No Poverty