Regional Profiles - Social Indicators - London - February 2012

Proportion of social rented housing, 2010

Source: Communities and Local Government

Notes:

1. Rented from local authorities and social landlords

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London has the highest proportion of socially rented housing in England. The proportion of people living in relative poverty is also the highest in the UK.

In 2010, 24 per cent of homes in London were rented from local authorities and social landlords, compared with the UK average of 18 per cent. Over a quarter (26 per cent) of homes were privately rented, above the UK average of 17 per cent.

In the three-year period 2007/08 to 2009/10, 28 per cent of people (2.1 million) were in households in London with incomes below the poverty threshold.

However, in London there is a much wider range of incomes relative to other regions. The median weekly household income after housing costs in London was £371, one of the highest of all English regions.

The median house price in 2009 in London was £250,000, the highest in England. The lowest median price at borough level was in Barking (£160,000).

A fifth of children in London lived in workless households in Q2 2011 (20.7 per cent), the highest proportion in the UK.

London had the highest proportions of households with one person (30 per cent), two or more unrelated adults (6.5 per cent) and lone parent households with dependent children (9.0 per cent) in 2010.

Life expectancy at birth in London was above the UK average in the three-year period 2008 to 2010 at 79.0 years for males and 83.3 years for females compared with 78.2 and 82.3 years respectively for the UK. Life expectancy was highest in the borough of Kensington and Chelsea for both males and females (85.1 and 89.8 years respectively). The lowest life expectancy for males was in Islington (76.0 years) and for females it was in Lambeth (81.1 years).

In 2010 42.2 per cent of the population were qualified to level 4 or higher of the National Qualification Framework (NQF). This compares with the average of 31.6 per cent for the UK as a whole.

Crime rates in London are among the highest in England. Police recorded crimes, which include crimes against visitors to London, amounted to 107 per 1,000 population in 2010/11. The average for England was 75 per 1,000 population. Looking at crimes reported to the British Crime Survey by people living in the metropolis, an estimated 1,040 crimes against the person were committed per 10,000 adults. This was 20 per cent above the England average (850 incidents).

You may also be interested in the following:

• There is an interactive map to view the percentage of households in poverty for small areas.

• The Atlas of Deprivation for England shows the variations in area deprivation within local authorities on a range of economic, social and housing issues and a single deprivation score.

• There is an interactive map of life expectancy figures for local authorities.

• A short article has more on variations in the housing market for local authorities including a map.

• Workless households for regions across the UK provides information about households and the adults and children living in them.

• You may also be interested in variations in Regional Family Spending patterns.

Also see Further Information below.

Source: Office for National Statistics

Background notes

1. Notes:

   This profile is based on the latest published data at the time of writing.

   The poverty threshold is household income below 60 per cent of UK contemporary median disposable household income after housing costs. The data are a three year average.

   For an example of analysis showing the wide range of incomes see Figure 5.3 in the Regional Trends article ‘Understanding incomes at small area level’.

   Disposable household income is net of income tax, National Insurance, personal pension schemes, child maintenance and Council Tax and is adjusted for household size and composition (equivalised). The ‘after housing costs’ measure will partly take into account differences in the cost of living between regions as housing costs include rent, water rates, mortgage interest payment, building insurance premiums, ground rent and service charges. The data are a three year average.

   The median is the middle value, so that half of cases are above and half below that value.

   The information on median house price is based on the prices paid for all dwellings (houses/flats) which changed ownership during 2009, excluding those bought at non-market prices.

   Workless households are households with at least one person aged 16 to 64, where no-one aged 16 or over is in employment. Children refers to all children under 16.

   Life expectancy figures are based on mortality among those living in the area in calendar years and mid-year population estimates. Rankings of the areas with the highest and lowest life expectancies are based on unrounded data. The data are a 3 year average.

   Qualification figures are for male residents aged 16 to 64 and female residents aged 16 to 59. Qualifications at level 4 of the National Qualification Framework refers to degree or equivalent. Please note that these estimates, at national or regional level in England, will not agree with National Statistics published by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills in the Post 16 Education and Skills Statistical First Release (see Table 12).

   The British Crime Survey provides a measure of people’s experience of crime based on responses to a survey of households and does not cover all types of crime, for example fraud or forgery or crimes against commercial property. Recorded crime covers offences reported to and recorded by the police. Population for crime rates covers those aged 16 and over.

2. Sources:

   Household income data are from the Households Below Average Income series, Department for Work and Pensions.

   Workless household data are from the Labour Force Survey, Office for National Statistics.

   Household type data are from the Annual Population Survey, Office for National Statistics.

   Housing tenure and house prices data are from the Department for Communities and Local Government.

   Life expectancy figures are calculated by the Office for National Statistics.

   Qualification data are derived from the ONS’s Annual Population by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills.

   British Crime Survey and Recorded Crime data are from the Home Office.

3. You may use or re-use this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk

4. Details of the policy governing the release of new data are available by visiting www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/assessment/code-of-practice/index.html or from the Media Relations Office email: media.relations@ons.gsi.gov.uk

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