Minimum Income StandardThe view from London Local Authorities

Cllr Roxanne MashariCabinet Lead Member for Employment and SkillsLondon Borough of Brent

1. How is this research useful to local authorities?

2. What is unique about the situation faced by Londoners and London Councils?

3. Where Local Authorities can contribute to issues highlighted by the report

4. Challenges

How this research is useful to local authorities

• Clarifies where major costs pressures are for families in London compared to the rest of the UK

• Housing, travel, childcare and social participation• Quantifies for the first time how much extra it

costs to reach minimum standard of living• How we think about using discretionary payments

& supporting affordable and accessible child care • Work with developers and employers, wages up,

travel costs down

What is unique about London and London Local Authorities

• Disproportionate concentration of industries where risk of non-compliance with NMW is high

• London workers more likely to be migrants - more likely to be paid less than NMW

• Safety net benefits fall well short• 1 in 3 Londoners fall below minimum income standard• London Boroughs face cuts of 6.3% this year compared

with 1.9% cuts in shire counties• London Boroughs spending per person has been cut by

31.4% compared to 25.7% in the North West• Benefit Cap - marked effect due to high rents

Scene in Brent

• Brent has 2nd lowest average weekly wage in London• Central London rent levels (average market rate for 3

bedroom house is £505 per week)• 30% of Brent residents in employment are paid less

than the LLW • Around 4 in 10 children in the borough live in poverty• Several wards in top 5% most deprived in the UK• Borough most impacted by the benefit cap in the UK

What can local authorities do?Wages & employment

• LA’s have links to local employers and range of partners including JCP and FE colleges

• Link local people to local jobs – reduce travel costs• ‘Wembley Works’ links jobs in new development to local people • Work with developers through planning to ensure local employment opportunities• ‘Job Brokerage’ getting people on to working tax credits to avoid benefit cap• Promote LLW• Brent first in the UK to offer business rate relief to employers paying the Living

Wage• Targeting low pay sector such as hospitality, care where wages are low and non-

compliance of NMW is high• Bulk purchasing across authorities to boost wages and compliance• Work more closely with HMRC, limited powers (Andy Hull ‘Settle for nothing less’

report)

Child care• DHP• Brent flexible child minding• Pupil premium, school uniforms• Admissions policies, siblings

Housing & Regeneration• DHP to help with shortfall in rent and transport

costs• Tumble dryers, damp• Regeneration, communal space & socialising

Challenges

• Unprecedented cuts to local government – lack of ring fencing, CTS, LWA

• DHP 40% reduction in funding. In 2014/15 Brent spent every penny of the £4.6 million. 2015/16 budget is only £2.6million

• Uncertainty over LWA scheme, judicial review - Most applicants are single men and lone parents - Funded from council’s overall budget, government propose to cut funding

• Restriction of benefit cap £26k to £23k• £12billion welfare savings how will this fall?• Universal Credit, DWP referrals• Agency