UK Social Trends

[sheherazade]

Black unemployment rates contribute to child poverty in the UK

 

Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London has worked in conjunction with the Association of London Government to introduce a new commission which will address child poverty in London.

 

The capital is known for having the worst rates of child poverty in Great Britain. When housing expenses are taken into consideration, over 40 percent of children are living in poverty, compared to 28 percent of children nation wide.

 

New policies will be developed on a local and national scale by the London Child Poverty Commission to help reduce the risk of poverty among children. The commission will also aim to create an understanding for the cause of the high rates in the capital.

 

Carey Oppenheim, Chair of the Commission is aware of the wealth and success of the London city, although she remains shocked at the growing rates of child poverty.

 

She said: “London is a world city, thriving and prosperous – but its prosperity masks shockingly high rates of child poverty. The Commission will play a crucial role working with central, regional and local government on developing practical solutions at national, local and neighbourhood level to child poverty in the capital.

 

“As a voice for Londoners, the Commission will work closely with the voluntary and statutory sector, employers, front line practitioners and families themselves who are struggling to make ends meet. We want to make a once and for all difference to the life chances of this generation and future generations of children in London.â€

 

Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London, believes that the current poverty situation can not be accepted, and feels that the commission proves that the government is looking at ways forward with this pending issue.

 

He said: “The establishment of this Commission demonstrates the strong consensus across regional and local government in the capital that this situation is no longer tolerable.

 

“This independent Commission will work with all levels of government to identify the policies needed to ensure that all of London’s children get a fair start in life.â€

 

New research, ‘Parents work in London,’ constructed by Greater London Authority Data Management and Analysis group, highlights that the potential of growing poverty rates concerns children from all types of family, not simply one parent families.

 

The ‘Parents work in London’ analyses employment patterns of parents and lone parent in London. The research also reviews family responsibilities and the contribution of the labour market.

 

The data was obtained from the Annual Population Survey (APS) and the Household Labour Force Survey. It assesses the working population of men aged 16-64 and women aged 16-59.

 

Employment factors all contribute to the high rates of poverty for children the capital. This is especially apparent with Black and Minority Ethnic groups.

 

It was found that groups such as BME, those who were born outside of the UK, disabled groups and those without any qualifications make very low labour market contribution.

 

45 percent of mothers from the BME community who have a partner are working, compared with 60 percent of white mothers. In addition, 40 percent of lone parents from BME groups are in work compared to 67 percent of white mothers.

 

BME fathers have a low employment rates compared to a growing of 90 percent of white fathers.

 

Part- time work patterns make a considerable difference to the employment rates of BME and white couple mothers. In contrast, full time employment rates of white and BME coupled parents are relatively close; 31 percent of white mothers are in work compared with 29 percent of BME coupled mothers.

 

Mothers born outside the UK have a lower employment rate of 43 percent compared with 61 percent of mothers born in the UK. However, the biggest difference can be noticed in the 47 percent of coupled mothers who were born outside the UK compared to 70 percent of UK-born mothers working.

 

MP Diane Abbott shared with Black Britain her thoughts as to how Black and Asian ethnic groups are affected by poverty.

 

She said: “Child poverty is enormously disconcerting because it perpetuates the cycles of poverty that keep people in deprivation for generations. The problem is particularly pertinent to black and ethnic minority communities who are much more likely to live in poverty – in and outside of the capital.

 

“Employment is the key to addressing this issue and I believe the Olympics represent an excellent opportunity for London to tackle the problem, especially in East London where there are pockets of real poverty.

 

She added: “It is my hope that this commission will raise the profile of the plight of children in London. If we can break this cycle once and for all there is real hope of ensuring that all London’s children will get a fair chance in life.â€

 

Research Revelations

 

51 percent of children within London are suffering from poverty compared with 34 per cent of those in outer London.

 

• Subsidies for childcare costs help ease the poverty confinement.

 

• London has the lowest employment rate in the UK, even with the creation of 420,000 new jobs between 1997 and 2003. A main cause of child poverty is adult unemployment.

 

• An estimated 25 percent of all children in London are likely to live in households where neither of the parents is in work, compared with a national average of 15 percent.

 

• There are high levels of child poverty among ethnic minority families in the capital. This is due to Black and Asian ethnic groups having low levels of employment.

 

• The difference between the highest and the lowest paid jobs available have increased over the years. In London 40% of lone parents compared with 54% are less likely to be in paid work.

 

• Family incomes are affected severely by the high costs of travel and accommodation in London. This adds to the pressures that many parents face in addition to high childcare costs, which consumes the family’s income.

 

 

source

[Castro]

The article reads:

 

When housing expenses are taken into consideration, over

40 percent

of children are living in poverty..

I wonder how much overlap there is between the 40% of children living in poverty and the one where they're born out of wedlock. I'm not implying the latter causes the former but I'm sure there's some causal relationship between the two. It's such a complex situation that no one thing is the culprit.

 

Callypso: "underachievers on an epic scale" you say? Well, let me tell you they're only marginally worse than their kin elsewhere. I'm pretty sure they don't take the gold medal. That is reserved for Somalia itself.

[Valenteenah.]

I wish I was one of the 29% living alone.

[Che -Guevara]

Originally posted by Castro:

I wonder how much overlap there is between the 40% of children living in poverty and the one where they're born out of wedlock. I'm not implying the latter causes the former but I'm sure there's some causal relationship between the two. It's such a complex situation that no one thing is the culprit.

There is definate correlation between the two.

 

Ahura....why be lonely :confused:

[Valenteenah.]

For the sake of my sanity, dear.

[Naden]

Callypso, in more instances than not (at least in Canada), the two are related with the more caruur the more cayr. Only the most vigilant and available of parents can be involved in their children's education. The unfortunate thing is that the introduction of welfare and social assistance made many of the educational gains of African American gains shrink with its widespread introduction in the 1960s. Many social scientists think it was parochial and took the power and responsibility out of the hands of mothers and fathers.

 

Originally posted by Callypso:

I suggest Somali parents in Britain spend less time fiddling with buugta cayrta and more time overseeing buugta carruurtooda. I have never seen a less ambitious community of Somalis. Unless things have changed in the last couple of years, Maryooley in the UK don't work, don't own businesses, and don't make any effort to improve their children's access to education and resources.