Tower Hamlets. Pic Source: Maya Oppenheim
As the most deprived areas in the whole Britain it is no surprise that Tower Hamlets’ claimants are set to be hit hard as a result of the welfare reforms. Like all of ELL’s boroughs it ranks high on “bedroom tax” and Housing Allowance losses, ranking 11th and 10th respectively. However, it is the one percent uprating that we see the biggest impact. With all 44, 511 households set to lose on average £351 per year, it is the highest of any of England’s local authorities.
Population: 254,100
Children: 47,900
Ethnic makeup: 36% Asian, 31% white, 7% black, 10% other white, 4% mixed ethnic groups, 3% Chinese.
Average wage: £58,000 a year
Child Poverty: 79% of children in low-income families
How Tower Hamlets’ welfare losses compare to the rest of England (out of 325 English local authorities)
…. 27th when it comes to average loss per claimant household
….11th when it comes to average loss to “bedroom taxed” households
….10th when it comes to average loss to local housing allowance households
…. 27th as a result of changes to tax credit
… Tower Hamlets’ claimant households will lose the most out of all of England’s Local Authorities as a result of the 1% uprating
…and how much is the the average household set to gain from the Universal Credit scheme
£ 192
Go here and click on impact modelling tool for a full rundown of how Welfare Reforms will affect Tower Hamlets
(Source: Local Government Association and Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion: http://www.local.gov.uk/publications/-/journal_content/56/10180/4098780/PUBLICATION)
To Read ELL’s other stories from Welfare Reform Week click below:
Bedroom taxed households pass the 10,000 mark
By Jack Simpson and Maya Oppenheim
