Deprivation and worklessness

 
There are extremes of wealth and poverty that exist within boroughs. For example, in Merton poverty is concentrated in the east of the borough where three wards are amongst the poorest 25% of all wards nationally and six wards which are in the wealthiest 25% of wards nationally. Unemployment is low by London standards but unemployment and deprivation are prevalent in the north of the sub-region and areas associated with large estates such as St Hellier; Roehampton; Phipps Bridge, Crystal Palace, New Addington and the Crays.

Incidences of unemployment and other deprivation factors are highly localised and often hidden in neighbourhoods where unemployment and deprivation can be very high below ward level. A sub-regional example shows unemployment figures at the Lower Layer Super Output Areas (LSOAs) contrasting between 7.2% unemployment (and falling within 10% of the most deprived areas) and an unemployment rate of 1.3% (and falling in the 10% of the least deprived). Isolation, poor access to transport, low educational achievement, lack of local jobs, a shortage of affordable childcare, inequalities, poor health and environmental deprivation are associated factors.

South London has pockets of severe deprivation to address but is also under threat of declining suburbs. The GLA report ‘A City of Villages’ identified a number of pressures on London’s suburbs, including loss of local employment and decline in district centres, marginalisation and decline in some social housing estates, exporting inner city problems, neglect and deterioration of housing stock, and lack of accessible transport. More analysis is needed into the change in economic activity rates and to try and reverse the trend in south London.

Low average south London local pay rates add a further dimension with the most highly skilled and mobile workers able to seek higher pay and better career prospects in central and west London and the less mobile unable to command the salaries they need to buy or rent accommodation within reasonable travel to work distance. This is contributing to the polarisation effect of people earning low wages. The shortage of affordable and key worker housing to buy or rent is both a social problem and a constraint on economic competitiveness. The Health Service is an example of one of the public sector employers in the sub-region struggling to secure and retain skilled staff.

At borough level there are Local Strategic Partnerships, Local Area Agreements, Community Plans and neighbourhood agreements to address deprivation and exclusion and help build the capacity of communities to engage in making improvements. However, local issues of deprivation can worsen without intervention and pockets of deprivation will grow and spread. There is more that could be done to have a more holistic approach to addressing deprivation and to develop a multi-partner and sub-regional approach across a range of public and private services.

Childcare

Good quality affordable childcare is important, not just for children but also to enable parents to engage more fully in the labour market. The number of under-fives is expected to increase but the provision of childcare in the sub-region, although better than the Greater London average, is lower than the England average.

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