17 September 2004
London council leaders are calling for a more regional analysis of patterns of poverty to ensure that the government resources intended to tackle its accompanying problems are properly targeted.
The Association of London Government wants ministers to commission far more research to examine social exclusion at the sub-regional level.
Currently, most studies concentrate on the differences between regions.
The ALG made its call after the Department for Work and Pensions published Opportunity for all, its annual report on poverty and social exclusion, on September 13.
Dame Sally Powell, deputy chair of the ALG, said there needed to be greater recognition of the 'sharp variations' in poverty levels that often exist within the same region.
'This is a real issue in London where wealth and deprivation often co-exist, thereby masking the true extent of poverty,' Powell added.
'London has the highest rate of child poverty in the UK – affecting around 700,000 children.'
The DWP report says the government will extend poverty indicators to include families living in temporary accommodation. Powell backed the move, which she said would capture up to 60,000 families living in the capital.
New DWP Secretary Alan Johnson, launching the report, pledged that the government would do more to tackle pockets of poverty at the local level.
The government report was released at the same time as a study from the Royal Bank of Scotland, which showed that the gap in economic growth between the best and worst performing regions was at its widest for three years.
PFsep2004
