A new report has revealed how the Covid-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted Londoners.
Trust for London’s latest annual poverty profile found that the number of people using food banks rose 128% in London between September 2019 and 2020, compared to a 56% increase in the rest of England.
The report also found that Londoners living in poorer areas were more likely to feel the health and economic impacts of the pandemic.
While the death rate from Covid-19 is higher in London than anywhere else in England, the most deprived areas of the capital had death rates up to 23% higher than the least deprived areas.
Bharat Mehta, Managing Director of Trust for London, said: “This past year has been extremely difficult for everyone. The impact of the pandemic on London has been profound and the economic and health burden has not been borne in the same way.
“Covid-19 has brought to light the economic insecurity that many residents of our city live with and brought conversations about poverty to the fore.
“Londoners have been hit hard by the effects on jobs, food insecurity and rising debt levels. Yet we have also seen communities come together and develop partnerships and innovative solutions.
Mr. Mehta went on to say that “more needs to be done to address the systematic disadvantage facing certain groups in our city”.
The report also found that low-income Londoners had higher leave rates than those in less deprived areas, while 44% more Londoners depended on benefits in August 2020 than in August 2019.
But the Poverty Profile found some bright spots, including the fact that the number of street sleepers in London fell by around 59% between fall 2019 and fall 2020.
The temporary ban on evictions during the pandemic also led to a 78% drop in the number of foreclosures in 2020.
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Source: www.times-series.co.uk
This notice was published: 2021-04-24 05:00:00
