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Localism in London

Although London retains a regional assembly (see regionalisation driver), with the election of Boris Johnson as Conservative Mayor of London in May 2008, there has been an increasing devolution of power to the London boroughs. The Office of Mayor has a statutory role over housing, transport and planning in London, and a duty to promote economic and social development. However Mayor Johnson has shown a clear commitment to giving councils a greater say on services in their areas. This has been signified by:

A new concordat, the City Charter signed between London Councils (the umbrella body for London’s 33 local authorities) and the Mayor, which calls for power to be devolved to councils to appoint police borough commanders, be allocated seats on the Metropolitan Police Authority and giving councils control of trunk roads, currently run by Transport for London; Negotiation of affordable housing targets with each borough, rather than the former system where affordable housing targets for each borough were imposed by the Mayor (see Housing market driver). The establishment of an Outer London Commission to specifically look at the contribution that outer London boroughs can make to the capital’s economy (see inequality between local areas driver).

Mayor Johnson’s agenda fits well with the recent Conservative Party Green Paper on local government: ‘Control Shift’, which advocates decentralisation and localism. However, the localism agenda is also advocated by the current government in its White Paper Communities in Control. Where the parties most differ is in the Conservative party’s proposals to further scrap regional structures, such as the Government Office for London. The New Local Government Network has gone even further, suggesting that the Greater London Assembly should be abolished and replaced by a London Council Leaders body.

However, many have criticised the Mayor for using the localism agenda to promote the interests of more affluent boroughs, which provided the bulk of his electoral base. This has been to the detriment of the less well-off boroughs. For example, affordable housing targets in boroughs in the east of London (which contain London’s most deprived areas) are much higher than in the west. There is concern that this could lead to increased poverty and inequality across the capital.

This note was produced by Alison Blackwood, Senior Policy Advisor, LVSC

Although Britain has moved from a low to a high skilled knowledge-based labour market (as stated in this driver), in international terms the UK is only 12th in the list of countries measured on the percentage of working age adults with high level skills. In fact one in eight adults of working age in the UK has no qualifications.

The UK Commission for Employment and skills was set up in 2008 as a result of recommendations in Lord Leitch’s 2006 report on skills. It is working towards making the UK a leader in employment and skills and has a target to improve the UK’s level of skills so that it is in the top 8 countries in the international list by 2020. However, the head of the Commission has complained that one of the barriers to this is the great complexity of the UK skills system which includes structures such as the Learning and Skills Council (soon to be replaced by the Skills Funding Agency and Young People’s Learning Agency, sector skills councils, regional skills partnerships, regional, sub-regional and local employment and skills. See our news item on the Skills & Employment Board in London boards and others.

As Britain begins to recover from the recession it is important that those seeking work have the high-level skills needed in the sectors in which employment is expected to increase, such as the green economy, health and social care and education. The Government is already investing in creating more jobs as a means to mitigate the effect of the recession. However, it is argued that as a result of the recession there needs to be more investment in skills development, particularly for adults so that they can up-skill, retrain and improve their employability in time for any recovery. This will ensure that people do not drift into long-term unemployment with resulting increases in poverty and inequality.

In London this is particularly important, as almost 30% of working age residents are not in employment – more than anywhere else in England. Although London has proportionately more people with high skills than the rest of the UK (34.5% compared with 27.3%), it has fewer people with intermediate level skills (12% compared to 15%) and a similar proportion with no qualifications (14%). In addition there are over three low skilled residents in London for every low skill job, compared with an average figure of 2.3 in the rest of England.

The London Skills and Employment Board produced an employment and skills strategy for London in 2008. In light of the changing conditions brought about by the recession, it is now seeking to address this to ensure London is prepared for recovery. LVSC are working with the Board to ensure that the voluntary and community sector can play an important part in improving skills

More information

• Information on skills in the UK and targets for 2020
• Information on UK Commission for Employment and Skills
• The Letich Review of Skills
• Barriers to achieving skills targets
• Fields of Future growth
• Need to improve investment in skills as a result of the recession
• Facts and figures about employment and skills in London

These notes were produced by my colleague Alison Blackwood

Child Poverty

Some of our members and partners, including London Citizens Advice Bureau have reported a big increase in demand for services aimed at children and their families who live in poverty. This has been exacerbated by the economic downturn. Liz Thorne from End Child Poverty Campaign has produced a child poverty policy briefing for LVSC, which will be available shortly (LVSC website). The bulletin contains policy context, what you can do to lobby and campaign and information about the impact of poverty of the lives of children in London.

Even though London is the sixth richest city in the world, four out of ten children live in poverty. It is interesting to note however, that inner London borough poverty is falling, but poverty levels in the outer boroughs are on the increase (see the driver on inequality between local areas) although important to note that child poverty rates remain much higher in Inner than Outer London. The London Child Poverty Commission, which monitors child poverty rates in London and London Councils also produce a huge range of useful statistics on child poverty.

LVSC and its partners have identified potentially huge implications for the sector. For example, there are many small and medium organisations providing essential support services to the most marginalised children and their families, yet they are very much under resourced. This situation is made worse by the impact of the recession and the trend from grants to commissioning. Many small and some medium organisations do not have the capacity or the experience to compete for contracts. The recession so far has led to a big increase in demand for services but many funding streams will not be renewed, as funders are increasingly strapped for resources. See also the drivers on reductions in public spending and reductions in corporate giving. London CAB has stated in its response to the Child Poverty Unit’s consultation on ‘Ending Child Poverty: Making it Happen (March 2009) that the role of advice agencies needs to be formally recognised so that they are in a better position to obtain sustainable funding to meet increased demands on their services (especially to cope with the increased take up of benefits), due to the recession. The uptake of the Disability Living Allowance (DLA) is also low, due to families not understanding the different benefit rules (leading to debt) and because of the way benefits and tax credits interact. Barriers to the uptake of DLA are even greater among families of disabled children and BAME communities. A lack of awareness and cultural and language barriers are cited as the main reasons why these families under claim. Therefore, London CAB strongly recommends greater signposting to benefits by professionals. Shelter also expressed serious concerns about meeting the backlog and future housing needs of its clients and that more funding is needed for social housing (see the driver on the housing market). According to Shelter, more than 330,000 children living in London are living in overcrowded housing (an increase of 28,000 in the past two years). According to the Policy Studies Institute, one in five Bangladeshi families live in overcrowded housing. The study claims that this has a negative impact on children’s health as “close proximity and condensation in these households enables viral illness to spread rapidly throughout whole families”.

There are a number of campaigns and action groups you could join to help campaign to end child poverty. These include the Child Poverty Action Group and the End Child Poverty Campaign. Your organisation could also liaise with the London Child Poverty Network set up by London Councils and Government Office for London.

LVSC also engages with a range of regional children and young people's networks to influence policy development in London. If your organisation would like to contribute to these processes email policy@lvsc.org.uk for more information.

Further information:

• Joseph Rowntree Foundation research on child poverty
• Delivering on Child Poverty: What would it take by the Dept of Work & Pensions
• Tackling Child poverty in London: A guide to borough initiatives & good practice
• Mayor’s London childcare factsheet
• Understanding the risks of social exclusion across the life course: children & families (research July 2009)