Tackling Child Poverty

20 Feb 2006

London’s Mayor, Ken Livingstone, and the Association of London Government have today launched a commission to help tackle child poverty in the capital. Diane Abbott, MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, today welcomed this announcement saying that: “It is unacceptable that our great capital still has the worst child poverty rates in Britain. We simply cannot allow more than half a million children to continue to live in destitution.”

The commission will work to highlight the fact that 41% of all children in the capital are living in poverty once housing costs are taken into account, compared to 28 %of children nationwide.

Diane said: “I think these figures will be surprising to many people. Whilst there is a huge and visible concentration of wealth in some areas of London there are still so many children living in poverty.  This is completely unacceptable. The Labour government has worked hard to combat child poverty and has been relatively successful nationally. However, in London it’s a different story altogether. There has been very little progress since 1998.”

Diane added: “We need to understand the causes of poverty in order to combat them effectively and break this vicious circle. We need to ensure that our children will be equipped to take advantage of the many opportunities that London has to offer. In a world city with a sprawling economic centre we cannot allow this continuing ridge between rich and poor to deepen.”

Diane added: “Child poverty is enormously disconcerting because it perpetuates the cycles of poverty that keep people in deprivation for generations. The problem is particularly pertinent to black and ethnic minority communities who are much more likely to live in poverty – in and outside of the capital. Employment is the key to addressing this issue and I believe the Olympics represent an excellent opportunity for London to tackle the problem, especially in East London where there are pockets of real poverty.”

Diane concluded: “It is my hope that this commission will raise the profile of the plight of children in London. If we can break this cycle once and for all there is real hope of ensuring that all London’s children will get a fair chance in life.”

Notes to Editors

KEY FACTS:

  • In Inner London – the child poverty rate is 51 per cent and in Outer London it is 34 per cent.
  • There are some advances, with inner London schools improving at their fastest rate ever, and an increase in tax credit receipt in London. London pilots of in-work credits for the low paid and subsidies for childcare costs help ease the poverty trap.
  • 27% of all children in the capital live in poverty before housing costs - 36% in Inner London - compared to 21% nationwide.
  • The biggest single cause of child poverty is adult unemployment and worklessness. Despite the creation of 420,000 new jobs between 1997 and 2003, London has the lowest employment rate of any UK region.
  • At the moment children in London are far more likely to live in households where no one is in work. Some 25 per cent of all children in London live in workless households – compared with a national average of 15 per cent.
  • A high proportion of those without work are from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic families and low levels of employment are one of the major reasons for the very high levels of child poverty among ethnic minority families in the capital.
  • Though earnings are generally higher in London – the gap between highest and lowest has increased over recent years. In London lone parents are much less likely to be in paid work - 40% compared to 54% in the UK.
  • The high costs of travel and accommodation in the capital also have a major impact on family incomes, added to which many parents also face high childcare costs which undermine the financial rewards of work.


back ⇢