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High levels of unemployment, social exclusion, crime, deprivation and homelessness combine to create major challenges for London’s boroughs.

London Councils Website

Child Poverty In London: The Facts

London is the sixth richest city in the world¹, provides 20% UK 's GDP² and is one of the most expensive cities to live in worldwide ³.

Yet alongside prosperity lives poverty. 4 in 10 (or 650,000) London children live in poverty , 12% above the national average⁴. Child poverty levels in inner London boroughs are higher still; more than one in every two inner London children live in poverty⁶. Indeed, London has the highest proportion of children living in income poverty (after housing costs) of any region or country in Great Britain⁵.

Moreover, whilst standards have been raised nationally, with over 600,000 children living in the UK having been lifted out of poverty, child poverty in London has remained stubbornly at this level since 2000. Child poverty is also more acute in London , with far more children in the lowest 10% of the income distribution and the highest rate of severe child poverty in the UK ⁷.

295 (39%) of London 's wards fall in the most deprived 20% of wards in England , with over 2.7million Londoners living in these wards. Furthermore, four London boroughs (Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Newham and Islington) are in the top ten most deprived boroughs in England⁸.

London is the economic engine of the UK . The capital houses the headquarters of more than 100 of Europe's 500 largest companies and London 's £162 billion economy is larger than some EU countries⁹. However, the contrast between London 's wealth-generating capacity and its poverty levels is striking. Families living in poverty have only £10 per person per day to buy everything they need . In contrast, the average household income in London is £44 per person per day - over 20% higher than the national average¹⁰. Indeed, whilst 22% households in London have an income of under £15,000, 15% households in London have an income of over £60,000¹¹.

However, child poverty is more than just statistics. Hundreds of thousands of London children cannot do or have the everyday things that their friends take for granted. Some lack physical basics like adequate clothing and a balanced diet. Many others are unable to participate fully in society, for example because their parents cannot afford to pay for leisure activities outside school or they feel uncomfortable inviting friends round to their house.

Poverty impacts on the health, education and life chances of considerable numbers of children, consigning them to remain in a cycle of poverty which takes them from poverty in childhood, to becoming a parent of poor children. This intergenerational effect appears to be escalating¹²; children in the UK face higher risks of longer-term negative impacts of childhood poverty than in many other countries¹³

Taken from London Child Poverty Commission's final report, Capital Gains (2008): Causes of poverty in London :

Lack of part-time jobs.
Lack of support from the national tax and benefit system.
Lack of responsibility from social landlords in increasing the employability of their tenants.
Lack of flexibility and the cost of childcare in London .
Lack of consistent entitlement to English language training for lower income families.
London 's population generally has high levels of disadvantage. Across the UK , poverty risks are high for most ethnic minority groups, for lone parents and for families in rented accommodation and these are all groups which are strongly represented in London . Outcomes for these groups are actually worse in London but many of the problems are not specific to London .

Aside from the moral obligation to end child poverty, there is also a financial one. Child poverty costs Londoners approximately £4.9billion every year incurred from paying for services required as a result of the fall-out of children growing up poor, to foregone taxes and higher benefits resulting from reduced future employment prospects of those who experience childhood poverty ¹⁶.

4 in 10: The End Child Poverty London Project, a two-year London-based project coordinated by End Child Poverty and funded by the City Bridge Trust and the City Parochial Foundation, has identified four key themes of child poverty in London where voluntary and community organisations working with, or campaigning on behalf of, London children and families can have a direct impact on the life experiences of children living in poverty. Please follow the links below to find out more about each of these themes of poverty, how they affect London children and how organisations working within these themes can help break the intergenerational poverty cycle.

Child Development, Education and Well-being
Parental Support
Housing
Black and Minority Ethnic Groups

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PriceWaterhouseCoopers (2007) Global City Forecasts
London's place in the UK economy, 2005–06 , City of London .
UBS survey (2008)
DWP (2008) HBAI Statistics: After Housing Costs
DWP (2008) HBAI Statistics: After Housing Costs
DWP (2008) HBAI Statistics: After Housing Costs
Magadi M. and Middleton S. (2007) Measuring Severe Child Poverty in the UK (Save the Children, London )
Provided by Government Office for London ( http://www.go-london.gov.uk/boroughinfo/ ). Number of Wards that fall in the top 10% most deprived wards in England
London's place in the UK economy, 2005–06 , City of London
National Statistics Online ( www.statistics.gov.uk )
Household income distribution in 2006-07. Provided by London Councils ( www.londoncouncils.gov.uk/londonfacts/londonstatistics/ )
Hirsch D (2007) What will it take to end child poverty? Firing on all cylinders.
London Child Poverty Commission (2008) Capital Gains
London Child Poverty Commission (2008) Capital Gains
London Skills & Employment Board (2007) Globalisation, Skills and Employment: The London Story
TUC (2007) ( http://www.tuc.org.uk/welfare/tuc-13840-f0.cfm )