700,000 children in poverty in London – the causes and impacts

Poverty can have detrimental effects on childhood health and development. According to The Childhood Trust, “all areas of a child’s life are adversely affected by poverty: home, school, friendships and more” ^[1].

The percentage of children in poverty after housing costs in London in 2021/22 was 33 per cent, which amounts to around 700,000 children ^[2]. This is the fourth highest of regions in England and is higher than the UK rate of 29 per cent.

There is a large disparity in poverty rates for children between different London boroughs. Almost half (48 per cent) of children are growing up in poverty in Tower Hamlets, compared to 12 per cent in Richmond upon Thames ^[3].

In the UK, children from Black and minority ethnic groups are more likely to be in poverty. 48 per cent are now in poverty, compared with 25 per cent of children in white British families ^[4].

The Economy Committee will meet tomorrow for the first of two meetings on child poverty in London. It will examine the scale and causes of child poverty in London, how it differs across boroughs, and the impact of growing up in poverty on children.

The guests are:

• Katherine Hill, Strategic Project Manager, 4in10
• Tom Lee, Senior Policy Analyst, Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG)
• Chris Price, Chief Executive Officer, Pecan
• Klara Skrivankova, Director of Grants, Trust for London
• Debbie Weekes-Bernard, Deputy Mayor for Communities and Social Justice
• Dan Drillsma-Milgrom, Senior Manager – Equality and Fairness, Communities and Social Policy, Greater London Authority (GLA)

The meeting will take place on Tuesday 17 October from 10am in the Chamber at City Hall, Kamal Chunchie Way, E16 1ZE.

Media and members of the public are invited to attend.

The meeting can also be viewed LIVE or later via webcast or YouTube.

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