FOCUSONLONDON2011:POVERTY:THEHIDDENCITY One of the defining features of London is that it is a city of contrasts. Although it is considered one of the richest cities in the world, over a million Londoners are living in relative poverty, even before the additional costs of living in the capital are considered. This edition of Focus on London, authored by Rachel Leeser, presents a detailed analysis of poverty in London that reveals the scale and distribution of poverty in the capital. CHARTS: The motion chart shows the relationship between child poverty and worklessness at borough level, and shows how these two measures have changed since 2006. It reveals a significant reduction in workless households in Hackney (down 12 per cent), and to a lesser extent in Brent (down 7 per cent). The bar chart shows child poverty rates and the change in child poverty since 2006. It reveals that while Tower Hamlets has the highest rate of child poverty, it also has one of the fastest falling rates (down 12 per cent), though Haringey had the biggest fall (15 per cent). DATA: All the data contained within the Poverty: The Hidden City report as well as the data used to create the charts and maps can be accessed in the spreadsheet. FACTS: Some interesting facts from the data… ● Highest proportion of children in workless households, by borough, 2010 Westminster – 35.6% Barking and Dagenham – 33.6% Lewisham – 33.1% Newham – 31.4% Islington – 30.6% -31. Barnet – 9.1% -32. Richmond upon Thames – 7.0% ● Changes in proportions of workless households, 2006-09, by borough Hackney – down 12.3% Brent – down 7.3% Tower Hamlets – down 4.8% Lambeth – down 4.2% Hillingdon – down 4.1% -31. Enfield – up 5.8% -32. Bexley – up 7.3% ● Highest reduction in rates of child poverty 2006-09, by borough: Haringey – down 15.0% Newham – down 12.9% Hackney – down 12.8% Tower Hamlets – down 12.1% Southwark – down 11.5% -31. Bexley – up 6.0% -32. Havering – up 10.3%

FOCUSON**LONDON**2011:**POVERTY**:THE**HIDDEN**CITY One of the defining features of London is that it is a city of contrasts. Although it is considered one of the richest cities in the world, over a million Londoners are living in relative poverty, even before the additional costs of living in the capital are considered. This edition of Focus on London, authored by Rachel Leeser, presents a detailed analysis of poverty in London that reveals the scale and distribution of poverty in the capital. REPORT: Read the full report as a PDF. https://londondatastore-upload.s3.amazonaws.com/fol/fol11-poverty-cover-thumb.jpg" alt=""> PRESENTATION: What do we mean by living in poverty, and how does the model affect different types of families? This interactive presentation provides some clarity on a complex concept. CHARTS: The motion chart shows the relationship between child poverty and worklessness at borough level, and shows how these two measures have changed since 2006. It reveals a significant reduction in workless households in Hackney (down 12 per cent), and to a lesser extent in Brent (down 7 per cent). The bar chart shows child poverty rates and the change in child poverty since 2006. It reveals that while Tower Hamlets has the highest rate of child poverty, it also has one of the fastest falling rates (down 12 per cent), though Haringey had the biggest fall (15 per cent). Charts DATA: All the data contained within the Poverty: The Hidden City report as well as the data used to create the charts and maps can be accessed in this spreadsheet. FACTS: Some interesting facts from the data… ● Highest proportion of children in workless households, by borough, 2010 1. Westminster – 35.6% 2. Barking and Dagenham – 33.6% 3. Lewisham – 33.1% 4. Newham – 31.4% 5. Islington – 30.6% -31. Barnet – 9.1% -32. Richmond upon Thames – 7.0% ● Changes in proportions of workless households, 2006-09, by borough 1. Hackney – down 12.3% 2. Brent – down 7.3% 3. Tower Hamlets – down 4.8% 4. Lambeth – down 4.2% 5. Hillingdon – down 4.1% -31. Enfield – up 5.8% -32. Bexley – up 7.3% ● Highest reduction in rates of child poverty 2006-09, by borough: 1. Haringey – down 15.0% 2. Newham – down 12.9% 3. Hackney – down 12.8% 4. Tower Hamlets – down 12.1% 5. Southwark – down 11.5% -31. Bexley – up 6.0% -32. Havering – up 10.3%

Graph and download economic data for Percent of Population Below the Poverty Level (5-year estimate) in New London County, CT (S1701ACS009011) from 2012 to 2021 about New London County, CT; Norwich; CT; poverty; percent; 5-year; population; and USA.

This work looks at in-work poverty in London between 1996 and 2023. It provides an overview of the links between working-age poverty and employment participation at the individual and household levels in the capital. Some key findings include: Poverty has changed. There are now more people in poverty in London who are in a working family than in a workless family. The reverse was true 30 years ago. Insecure forms of work such as part-time work and self-employment are linked to poverty. Ethnic minority workers and those with no educational qualifications are most likely to be working and in poverty. Working families with three or more children have seen their poverty rate increase sharply since the introduction of the two-child benefit cap on Universal Credit. Single parents have a high likelihood of in-work poverty, though the number of people in work and in poverty has also risen sharply among Londoners living as a couple.

FOCUSONLONDON2011:POVERTY:THEHIDDENCITY

One of the defining features of London is that it is a city of contrasts. Although it is considered one of the richest cities in the world, over a million Londoners are living in relative poverty, even before the additional costs of living in the capital are considered.

This edition of Focus on London, authored by Rachel Leeser, presents a detailed analysis of poverty in London that reveals the scale and distribution of poverty in the capital.

CHARTS:

The motion chart shows the relationship between child poverty and worklessness at borough level, and shows how these two measures have changed since 2006. It reveals a significant reduction in workless households in Hackney (down 12 per cent), and to a lesser extent in Brent (down 7 per cent).

The bar chart shows child poverty rates and the change in child poverty since 2006. It reveals that while Tower Hamlets has the highest rate of child poverty, it also has one of the fastest falling rates (down 12 per cent), though Haringey had the biggest fall (15 per cent).

DATA:

All the data contained within the Poverty: The Hidden City report as well as the data used to create the charts and maps can be accessed in the spreadsheet.

FACTS:

Some interesting facts from the data…

● Highest proportion of children in workless households, by borough, 2010

1. Westminster – 35.6%
2. Barking and Dagenham – 33.6%
3. Lewisham – 33.1%
4. Newham – 31.4%
5. Islington – 30.6%

-31. Barnet – 9.1%

-32. Richmond upon Thames – 7.0%

● Changes in proportions of workless households, 2006-09, by borough

1. Hackney – down 12.3%
2. Brent – down 7.3%
3. Tower Hamlets – down 4.8%
4. Lambeth – down 4.2%
5. Hillingdon – down 4.1%

-31. Enfield – up 5.8%

-32. Bexley – up 7.3%

● Highest reduction in rates of child poverty 2006-09, by borough:

1. Haringey – down 15.0%
2. Newham – down 12.9%
3. Hackney – down 12.8%
4. Tower Hamlets – down 12.1%
5. Southwark – down 11.5%

-31. Bexley – up 6.0%

-32. Havering – up 10.3%

Percent of Population Below the Poverty Level (5-year estimate) in New London County, CT was 8.70% in January of 2021, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Percent of Population Below the Poverty Level (5-year estimate) in New London County, CT reached a record high of 10.20 in January of 2018 and a record low of 8.10 in January of 2012. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Percent of Population Below the Poverty Level (5-year estimate) in New London County, CT - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on November of 2025.

These fuel poverty risk indicators provide users with a nuanced picture of the impact of various risk factors, exacerbating factors and indicators for fuel poverty. It was developed with the Assembly Health and Public Services Committee in their investigation into fuel poverty in London. The Committee's report explains how the tool could be used strategically to help organisations target specific wards that are at high risk of fuel poverty. Appendix 4 in the report set out the rationale for the risk factors present in the tool.

Users can adjust the weighting of the indicators to show their relative significance. Isolating specific indicators could help organisations determine what type of support is likely to have greatest impact in an area. For example, wards with a low score for cavity wall insulation would indicate wards that could be targeted for promoting uptake of cavity wall insulation.

Read Victoria Borwick's blog "Using public data to tackle fuel poverty - can you help?"

The fuel poverty scores measure risk of fuel poverty based on 12 indicators. The England and Wales average each year is 0. Scores below 0 are more likely to be at risk from fuel poverty according to these measures.

The indicators are:

Housing
Dwellings without central heating
Cavity walls that are uninsulated
Lofts with less than 150mm insulation

Health
Health Deprivation & Disability domain (ID2010)
Standardised Mortality Ratio
Incapacity Benefit claimant rate

Older people
People aged 60 and over
Older people claiming pension credit

Worklessness
Unemployment

Poverty
Income Support claimant rate
Child Poverty rates
Households classified 'fuel poor'

The Excel tool includes a ward map, charts and rankings.

Note: Users must enable macros when prompted upon opening the spreadsheet (or reset security to medium/low) for the map to function. The rest of the tool will function without macros.

https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/londondatastore-upload/fp-dashboard-map.jpg" alt="Excel Tool"/>

Key findings: More than one in four of London’s children were in poverty in 2010. Child poverty rates have fallen in London on this measure, but are still higher than in any other region of the UK. Four boroughs, Tower Hamlets, Islington, Westminster and Redbridge, include pockets where more than three in five children were in poverty. Over the last four years, most boroughs have seen decreases in the percentage of children in poverty on this measure, though Bromley has seen virtually no change, while Havering and Bexley have seen increases in most years.

As of 2023/24 approximately 11.6 million people were living in relative poverty in the United Kingdom, with that number increasing to over 14.2 million when housing costs are considered.

Numbers and percentages of children in poverty for Borough and London Wards (at 31 August each year).
This Children in Low-Income Families Local Measure shows the proportion of children living in families in receipt of out-of-work (means-tested) benefits or in receipt of tax credits where their reported income is less than 60 per cent of UK median income.

This measure provides a broad proxy for relative low income child poverty as set out in the Child Poverty Act 2010, and enables analysis at a local level. Statistics are published at various levels of geography providing an annual snapshot as at 31 August from 2006 onwards. The definitive national measure of relative child poverty as set out in the Child Poverty Act 2010, is contained in the DWP Households Below Average Income (HBAI) publication series.

Children in families in receipt of CTC (<60% median income) or IS/JSA: Number of children living in families in receipt of Child Tax Credit whose reported income is less than 60 per cent of the median income or in receipt of Income Support or Income-Based Jobseekers Allowance.

For National Statistics data on child poverty at Region, please refer to the Department of Work and Pensions' Households Below Average Income publication which uses the relative child poverty measure as set out in the Child Poverty Act 2010. The small area estimates are not directly comparable with the national figures. The publication can be found on the DWP website: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/households-below-average-income-hbai--2

More information, including Lower Super Outper Area data from HMRC.

Data for years 2006 to 2010 in the HMRC archive.

The London Borough of Redbridge was modelled as the local authority with the highest share of children with very low food security in the UK in 2020. Just over *********** of children living in this area were estimated to have very low food security. Tower Hamlets followed in second place. Food security is a measure of availability and access to food.

The sixteen datasets contain data collected from London archives, printed primary sources, and the Old Bailey Proceedings Online. They form the background data to graphs and tables published in the book, London Lives: Poverty, Crime and the Making of a Modern City, 1690-1800 (Cambridge University Press, 2015).

About the dataset This dataset uses information from the DWP benefit system to provide estimates of children living in poverty for wards in London. In order to be counted in this dataset, a family must have claimed Child Benefit and at least one other household benefit (Universal Credit, tax credits or Housing Benefit) during the year. The numbers are calibrated to the Households Below Average Income (HBAI) dataset used to provide the government's headline poverty statistics. The definition of relative low income is living in a household with equivalised* income before housing costs (BHC) below 60% of contemporary national median income. The income measure includes contributions from earnings, state support and pensions. Further detail on the estimates of dependent children living in relative low income, including alternative geographical breakdowns and additional variables, such as age of children, family type and work status are available from DWP's statistical tabulation tool Stat-Xplore. Minor adjustments to the data have been applied to guard against the identification of individual claimants. This dataset replaced the DWP children in out-of-work benefit households and HMRC children in low income families local measure releases. This dataset includes estimates for all wards in London of numbers of dependent children living in relative low income families for each financial year from 2014/15 to the latest available (2022/23). The figures for the latest year are provisional and are subject to minor revision when the next dataset is released by DWP. Headlines Number of children The number of dependent children living in relative low income across London, rose from below 310,000 in the financial year ending 2015 to over 420,000 in the financial year ending 2020, but has decreased since then to below 350,000, which is well below the number for financial year ending 2018. While many wards in London have followed a similar pattern, the numbers of children in low income families in some wards have fallen more sharply, while the numbers in other wards have continued to grow. Proportion of children in each London ward Ward population sizes vary across London, the age profile of that population also varies and both the size and make-up of the population can change over time, so in order to make more meaningful comparisons between wards or over time, DWP have also published rates, though see note below regarding caution when using these figures. A dependent child is anyone aged under 16; or aged 16 to 19 in full-time non-advanced education or in unwaged government training. Ward level estimates for the total number of dependent children are not available, so percentages cannot be derived. Ward level estimates for the percentage of children under 16 living in low income families are usually published by DWP but, in its latest release, ward-level population estimates were not available at the time, so no rates were published. To derive the rates in this dataset, the GLA has used the ONS's latest ward-level population estimates (official statistics in development). Percentages for 2021/22 are calculated using the 2021 mid year estimates, while percentages for 2022/23 are calculated using the 2022 mid year estimates. As these are official statistics in development, rates therefore need to be treated with some caution. Notes *equivalised income is adjusted for household size and composition in order to compare living standards between households of different types.

In 2024/25, over ******* people used a food bank in London, an when compared to the previous year. Food bank use in London has steadily climbed recently, with 108,370 users recorded in 2014/15.

Between 2019 and 2023, people living in households in the Asian and ‘Other’ ethnic groups were most likely to be in persistent low income before and after housing costs

In 2024/25, there were ******* food bank parcels distributed in London, the region with the highest number of food parcels distributed in that period.

This MSOA atlas provides a summary of demographic and related data for each Middle Super Output Area in Greater London. The average population of an MSOA in London in 2010 was 8,346, compared with 1,722 for an LSOA and 13,078 for a ward.

The profiles are designed to provide an overview of the population in these small areas by combining a range of data on the population, births, deaths, health, housing, crime, commercial property/floorspace, income, poverty, benefits, land use, environment, deprivation, schools, and employment.

If you need to find an MSOA and you know the postcode of the area, the ONS NESS search page has a tool for this.

The MSOA Atlas is available as an XLS as well as being presented using InstantAtlas mapping software. This is a useful tool for displaying a large amount of data for numerous geographies, in one place (requires HTML 5).

NB. It is currently not possible to export the map as a picture due to a software issue with the Google Maps background. We advise you to print screen to copy an image to the clipboard.

Tips:

1. - Select a new indicator from the Data box on the left. Select the theme, then indicator and then year to show the data.
2. - To view data just for one borough*, use the filter tool.
3. - The legend settings can be altered by clicking on the pencil icon next to the MSOA tick box within the map legend.
4. - The areas can be ranked in order by clicking at the top of the indicator column of the data table.

Themes included here are Census 2011 Population, Mid-year Estimates, Population by Broad Age, Households, Household composition, Ethnic Group, Country of Birth, Language, Religion, Tenure, Dwelling type, Land Area, Population Density, Births, General Fertility Rate, Deaths, Standardised Mortality Ratio (SMR), Population Turnover Rates (per 1000), Crime (numbers), Crime (rates), House Prices, Commercial property (number), Rateable Value (£ per m2), Floorspace; ('000s m2), Household Income, Household Poverty, County Court Judgements (2005), Qualifications, Economic Activity, Employees, Employment, Claimant Count, Pupil Absence, Early Years Foundation Stage, Key Stage 1, GCSE and Equivalent, Health, Air Emissions, Car or Van availability, Income Deprivation, Central Heating, Incidence of Cancer, Life Expectancy, and Road Casualties.

• The London boroughs are: City of London, Barking and Dagenham, Barnet, Bexley, Brent, Bromley, Camden, Croydon, Ealing, Enfield, Greenwich, Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham, Haringey, Harrow, Havering, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Kingston upon Thames, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Newham, Redbridge, Richmond upon Thames, Southwark, Sutton, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest, Wandsworth, Westminster.

These profiles were created using the most up to date information available at the time of collection (Spring 2014).

You may also be interested in LSOA Atlas and Ward Atlas.

Low income cut-offs (LICOs) before and after tax by community size and family size, in current dollars, annual.