Levels of deprivation and inequality across the region have been highlighted in a new report.

Camborne Pengegon, Penzance Treneere, and Redruth North - including the Close Hill, Strawberry Fields and Treleigh areas - have the highest levels of overall deprivation, according to the Government report.

While the data showed that Cornwall was improving in terms of becoming less deprived, Adam Paynter, deputy leader of Cornwall Council, stressed that there is no room for complacency.

He said: “As a council, we are committed to tackling the causes of social deprivation in Cornwall, protecting vital frontline services for our most vulnerable residents, raising aspirations for our young people, and directly investing in affordable homes and jobs that people in Cornwall need.

“We are doing this at a time of unprecedented financial uncertainty and against the backdrop of a growing inequality gap in funding across the country.”

The previous report, published in 2015, showed that Cornwall had an Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) ranking of 68 out of 326.

This year, Cornwall’s IMD ranking is currently 83 out of 317, with 17 Cornish neighbourhoods in the top 10 per cent of most deprived areas in England.

Between 2010 and 2020, Cornwall Council will have lost almost 60p out of every £1 provided by the Government for services.

Cllr Paynter added: “As we have highlighted in the past, this deep reduction in government funding, along with unequal funding across rural and urban areas, and an ongoing surge in demand for crucial services, is putting a huge strain on us and other local authorities across the county. It is stretching funds that simply don’t exist.

“That is why we are standing up for all our residents by calling on Government to redress a systematic bias against rural and coastal areas. We are disappointed that central Government have delayed the fair funding review until next year.”

The report was based on statistics published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Thursday, September 26.

The Index of Multiple Deprivation is the official measure of relative deprivation for small areas or neighbourhoods across England.

It is based on seven different domains of deprivation, using the following weights:

* Income Deprivation (22.5%)

* Employment Deprivation (22.5%)

* Education, Skills and Training Deprivation (13.5%)

* Health Deprivation and Disability (13.5%)

* Crime (9.3%)

* Barriers to Housing and Services (9.3%)

* Living Environment Deprivation (9.3%)