This interactive tool tracks the changing living standards and financial security for almost one million Londoners. The index works through combining anonymised household data from 18 councils across London tracking income, employment and poverty for low-income households and it is regularly updated with new information.
The latest findings, released in April 2019, show:
- 1 in 7 (15%) of the London low income families studied can’t pay the bills week to week
- This number is expected to triple to 238,000 by 2021 if nothing changes
- The biggest growth in cash-strapped families since 2016 was in Sutton (79%), Camden (40%), Southwark (43%).
The 18 councils involved in the project are using the index and its tracker tools to better target support to families in need and we would encourage more councils to get on board with sharing and using the data to do the same.
Policy in Practice
Policy in Practice is a social consultancy business that helps people towards independence by making the welfare system simple to understand.
They work with councils, government, housing and community organisations to target and improve welfare support for people. They look to simplify the welfare system by showing people how policy affects them, and study and track data to proactively support people and predict future demands by identifying trends.
For more information on Policy in Practice, visit their website.