In terms of low income, it is important to note that due to a fall in incomes over recent
years the poverty threshold now is lower than it was five years ago but is about the
same as ten years ago. These short-term changes should be viewed with caution,
but compared with a decade ago pensioner poverty has improved, child poverty is
unchanged and poverty among those in a working family has increased.
London remains the most unequal region in the country so the trends over time may
seem surprising. Income inequality and wealth inequality are both lower than five years
ago. But this compares the most recent data with that just before the recession when
income inequality reached a peak. Immediately after the recession the poorest in
London took a proportionally smaller hit; but compared with ten years ago, inequality
remains unchanged. It is not yet clear how and if inequality will change as the recovery
takes hold.
Figure 1.1: Trends in
London over time
Chapter one: Introduction andcommentary | 9
Mortgage possession rates are lower now than at their peak and also lower than ten
years ago. But for landlord repossessions and overcrowding the trend has consistently
worsened. Statutory homelessness has been rising over the last five years but remains
lower than the peak of the mid-2000s, while the number of rough sleepers is at its
highest since data has been collected.
Levels of worklessness are better with falls in the unemployment ratio, young adult
unemployment and workless households. All of these are back to or better than where
they were five years ago. Unemployment in London is at least as good as its prerecession
level, but the quality of that employment has not improved. The proportion
of jobs that are low paid and the proportion of employees in involuntarily part-time or
temporary work is higher now than before and during the recession.
This is somewhat reflected in trends in benefit receipt. Out-of-work benefit claims are
lower than five and ten years ago. But housing benefit claims by workless and working
households needing help with rent payments have not fallen. While there are fewer
jobseekers than there were five years ago, the proportion that lost some of their benefit
income due to a sanction has increased.
In education the picture is a positive one. The 2013 edition of this report noted that both
London pupils receiving and not receiving free school meals were out-performing their
peers in the rest of England. This report shows that the improvements in London have
continued.