The changing face of poverty
in London
Hannah Aldridge
Head of Analysis | New Policy Institute
[email protected] | www.npi.org.uk
London’s long-term poverty trends
Proportion of people in poverty
 Number of people in poverty in London has risen from 1.9m to 2.2m
over the last decade, mainly due to population growth
 but underneath that poverty has transformed
London’s long-term poverty trends
People in poverty in London (000s)
London’s long-term poverty trends
Increase in poverty among:
1. Working families
2. Private rented sector
3. Outer London
1) The rise in in-work poverty
 Substantial falls in unemployment - across boroughs,
age groups and ethnic groups
 But rises in low paid jobs and part-working families
2) The rise poverty in the PRS
Children in poverty in London (000s)
Its not just working age adults – children are at the sharp end
of London’s housing crisis
Adequacy of PRS housing
Poor quality
 30% of PRS non-decent (15% of SRS)
Insecure
 Two thirds of private renters have lived in their current
home less than three years (social rent average is 11
years)
 Landlord evictions are rising in London and double the
rate for Rest of England
Expensive
 needs don’t match means – and children loose out
3) The rise in poverty in Outer London
 Unemployment fell most in Inner London
 Across London out-of-work benefit claims have fallen
by 100,000s
 Homeless households placed outside their borough is
at an all time high (15,000 out of 64,000)
 But actual number of moves are small (10,000s)
 Movement from Inner to Outer London, small
compared to poverty overall
London Summary
Typical person in poverty is in London is:
 working family
 private renter
 in Outer London