Almost a third of children in Tower Hamlets are in families which are at least partially relying on benefits, making it the worst borough in London last year, according to new official figures.
Department for Work and Pensions statistics show that 26.7 per cent of children in Tower Hamlets were living in ‘relative low income’ families – i.e. those that claim some kind of benefit like Child Benefit or Universal Credit – in 2022.
Of the other Eastlondlonlines boroughs. Hackney has 23.4 per cent and is fourth in London. Lewisham has 16.8 per cent, making it 13th and Croydon has 15.5 per cent, ranking at 19th. It is the only ELL borough that has a lower percentage than the London average of 16 per cent.
There were no more than 30.9 per cent of children were living in non-working low-income families across the four ELL boroughs. The two ELL boroughs with the highest percentage of children living in low income families, Tower Hamlets and Hackney, remained to have the lowest percentage of children living in non-working families, with 22.1 per cent and 27.7 per cent respectively. For Croydon and Lewisham, they have 28.0 per cent and 30.9 per cent of children living in non-working families respectively.
In general, the majority of children living in low-income families in Croydon, Hackney and Tower Hamlets were in couple families, with 50.8 per cent, 55.4 per cent and 75.3 per cent respectively. However, there was only a difference of 1.6 per cent between those in couple families and in lone parent families in Croydon. Lewisham is the only ELL borough where the majority of children, 55.0%, were in lone parent families.
However, a spokesperson from Hackney Council said they do not consider the figures "accurate" as the data did not take on board what income families have to live on after housing costs: "We would estimate the figure to be closer to 45-48%."
"Tackling poverty is a key priority for the Council. We adopted a poverty reduction plan in March 2022 and have been working to develop more coordinated emergency support with more preventative help, as well as supporting frontline services and community partners at ground level."
A spokesperson from the government told London World that the statistic “reflect the country coming out of the pandemic and accompanying rising prices” and they are “committed to eradicating poverty and supporting those in need, and our actions have helped ensure there are nearly two million fewer people in absolute poverty than there were in 2009-10”.
Councils of the other three ELL boroughs - Croydon, Lewisham and Tower Hamlets - have not responded to ELL's request for comments.
Note: Children refers to individuals aged 0-15 in all data. All years mentioned in this article refer to the financial year; to be classed as 'relative low-income ' families must have claimed Child Benefit and at least one other household benefit (including Universal Credit, tax credits, or Housing Benefit) at any point in the year.
