| Commission
to tackle child poverty in London launched
20.02.06
An independent
commission to identify ways to reduce, and eventually eliminate,
child poverty in the capital, will be launched by the Association
of London Government (ALG) and the Mayor of London today.
665,000 London
children currently live in poverty (measured as below 60 per cent
of median income after housing costs). Across the country 28 per
cent of children live in poverty, but in Inner London the child
poverty rate is 51 per cent and in Outer London it is 34 per cent
and rising.
The London Child
Poverty Commission will bring together a range of experts in the
field including Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) Chief Executive
Kate Green, who said today:
“London has
the highest rate of child poverty in the whole of Britain, with
unique problems and challenges that must be tackled. When more
than half of children in Inner London and over a third in Outer
London are growing up in poverty, it’s clear that the Commission
has a huge job of work to do.
“Despite the
progress that’s been made in other parts of the country, the capital
still faces intractable problems. The Commission will need to
look at everything from the high cost of housing and childcare
to the low wages and low employment rate in London.
“I’m under
no illusions that these problems can be solved easily or quickly,
but I’m pleased that the Mayor and the ALG are as determined as
I am to tackle head on the many causes and consequences of child
poverty in our capital.”
Notes
for Editors
- The Commission
will be launched at 9.30am on Monday 20 February in the East Room,
Level 7, Tate Modern, Bankside, London, SE1.
- For media
enquiries for the Association of London Government please contact
Dermot Calpin on 020 7934 9760 or dermott.calpin@alg.gov.uk
- For media
enquiries for the Mayor please contact Matthew Neylan on 020 7983
4020 or matthew.neylan@london.gov.uk
For further
information please contact:
Alex Belardinelli
CPAG Press Officer
Tel. 020 7812 5216 or 07816 909302
abelardinelli@cpag.org.uk
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