Pic: Images of money

The risk of child poverty and long-term unemployment for people living in east London is among the highest in England, new research by credit rating agency Experian suggests.

Residents of Hackney are the most likely to currently be experiencing poverty out of all four boroughs, followed closely by Lewisham, Tower Hamlets and Croydon.

Hackney, Tower Hamlets and Lewisham are also ranked in the top 10 local authorities with the greatest risk of child poverty and long-term unemployment nationally.

Rita Krishna, Hackney Council cabinet member for children’s services, told EastLondonLines that addressing the issues of child poverty and long-term unemployment were two of the council’s highest priorities, saying that “the underlying issues are complex, as is well recognised.”

Hackney Council said they have assessed previous approaches and made new plans in a Child Poverty and Family Wellbeing review. As a result the council has a “wide ranging set of actions” in place to tackle these issues and it will share responsibilities with external partners.

Source: Experian

However, in terms of the greatest risk of overall poverty, all four boroughs ranked significantly lower than other parts of the country.

The research, which was compiled by credit rating agency Experian, ranked 323 local authorities in England according to how at risk residents are of several kinds of financial hardship.

Earlier this year, EastLondonLines reported that 27 per cent of children in Tower Hamlets were living in poverty.

The full report for the whole of the country is available to view here.