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| Child poverty and London's 100,000 "missing" working mothers | Child poverty and London's 100,000 "missing" working mothers |
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| London's wounding child poverty rate of 38% (pdf) is brought about by various things, most notably the capital's punishing housing costs. Another, more hidden, factor is the relative absence of London mothers from the labour market compared with elsewhere in the country. A new report from the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) has found that over 100,000 more of the capital's mums would be in work if London matched the UK average in this regard. | London's wounding child poverty rate of 38% (pdf) is brought about by various things, most notably the capital's punishing housing costs. Another, more hidden, factor is the relative absence of London mothers from the labour market compared with elsewhere in the country. A new report from the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) has found that over 100,000 more of the capital's mums would be in work if London matched the UK average in this regard. |
| Why the difference? One big reason is that the sort of part-time employment some mothers might otherwise take is very poorly paid by London standards. As the report puts it, part-time jobs at the lower end of the capital's labour market don't provide anything like the same "London premium" that workers higher up the scale enjoy - they are less than 10% better paid than in the rest of the UK compared with an average for jobs in London of around 25% better. | Why the difference? One big reason is that the sort of part-time employment some mothers might otherwise take is very poorly paid by London standards. As the report puts it, part-time jobs at the lower end of the capital's labour market don't provide anything like the same "London premium" that workers higher up the scale enjoy - they are less than 10% better paid than in the rest of the UK compared with an average for jobs in London of around 25% better. |
| Factor in London childcare costs, which are a monumental 24% higher than elsewhere, and taking a low-paid part-time job could easily leave you worse off rather than better. Meanwhile, says the report, there is a "severe lack" of part-time opportunities in the better-paid jobs that account for much female employment in London. | Factor in London childcare costs, which are a monumental 24% higher than elsewhere, and taking a low-paid part-time job could easily leave you worse off rather than better. Meanwhile, says the report, there is a "severe lack" of part-time opportunities in the better-paid jobs that account for much female employment in London. |
| The CPAG calls on central, regional and local government to help that "missing" 100,000 London mothers get into work and their children out of poverty. It asks Boris Johnson to set a target of increasing parental employment rates in London to the national average by 2015 and to build on his election campaign pledge to "create more than 20,000 part-time jobs" to help women with children return to work - including 7,500 such posts "across the GLA Group" - by the same year. It also asks for a higher statutory national minimum wage to apply in London - something Johnson hasn't done, although he's continued to champion the higher but voluntary London Living Wage. | The CPAG calls on central, regional and local government to help that "missing" 100,000 London mothers get into work and their children out of poverty. It asks Boris Johnson to set a target of increasing parental employment rates in London to the national average by 2015 and to build on his election campaign pledge to "create more than 20,000 part-time jobs" to help women with children return to work - including 7,500 such posts "across the GLA Group" - by the same year. It also asks for a higher statutory national minimum wage to apply in London - something Johnson hasn't done, although he's continued to champion the higher but voluntary London Living Wage. |
| The report also highlights last year's calculations by the think tank Inclusion – which I reported on at the time - that the effect on London claimants of the forthcoming universal credit benefit system will be harsher than on those in the rest of the country. These include leaving a lone parent of two with a six-hour a week part-time job on minimum wage over £1,000 a year worse of than the average equivalent parent outside London. The CPAG further recommends that the £60 a week "in work credit" that lone parents used to receive during their first year of returning to work be reinstated in the capital. | The report also highlights last year's calculations by the think tank Inclusion – which I reported on at the time - that the effect on London claimants of the forthcoming universal credit benefit system will be harsher than on those in the rest of the country. These include leaving a lone parent of two with a six-hour a week part-time job on minimum wage over £1,000 a year worse of than the average equivalent parent outside London. The CPAG further recommends that the £60 a week "in work credit" that lone parents used to receive during their first year of returning to work be reinstated in the capital. |
| In September Mayor Johnson told Lib Dem London Assembly member Stephen Knight that the skills and employment working group of his advisory London Enterprise Panel is "currently working to develop a campaign," designed to enable him to meet his part-time jobs target. "Appropriate campaign metrics will be developed in line with the outcome of the Working Group," he said, adding that he is "committed to reporting updates via the London Datastore, and will aim to." The working group is chaired by the chief executive of Travelodge. Its next meeting is on 14 December. | In September Mayor Johnson told Lib Dem London Assembly member Stephen Knight that the skills and employment working group of his advisory London Enterprise Panel is "currently working to develop a campaign," designed to enable him to meet his part-time jobs target. "Appropriate campaign metrics will be developed in line with the outcome of the Working Group," he said, adding that he is "committed to reporting updates via the London Datastore, and will aim to." The working group is chaired by the chief executive of Travelodge. Its next meeting is on 14 December. |
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