Families with Children Living Below a Decent Standard of Living

Families with children living in London, are the most likely group likely to be living below a ‘decent’ living standard.

Research from Loughborough University, finds that a third of Londoners can’t afford a decent standard of living, with families being hit the most.

Independent charity Trust for London, funded the research which aimed to take a detailed look into the how much money people needed to be able to live in the capital city whilst meeting their basic needs and participate in society.

A 43 per cent of families, 26 per cent of working adults with out children and 18 per cent of pensioners were found to be living below the Minimum Income Standard (MIS)

The MIS for what people were considered to be able to lead a decent life included food, housing, clothing, the ability to buy a child’s birthday present and being able to afford to maintain friendships.

?Single adults in outer London, needed to be on a minimum of £24,500 a year, based upon living in a studio flat.

Inner London jumped to £27,100 for the same standard of living accommodation.

Director of Policy and Grants at Trust for London, Mubin Haq,  said: “For some it costs almost 50% more to reach a decent standard of living in the capital compared to the rest of the country. The very high costs of housing, transport and childcare mean 1 in 3 Londoners are struggling to live a decent life, especially families with children.

“This is not about just food, clothing and having a roof over your head. It’s about the difference between people being able to participate in society or not. It raises important questions about whether London is for everyone or does it become a city for the wealthiest.”

“To help more Londoners reach the minimum we need a two-pronged approach which tackles low incomes, particularly low wages, coupled with policies to bring down the costs of housing, transport and childcare. Action is needed by employers to pay at least the Living Wage and by Government, particularly in relation to affordable housing.”