There are 70 per cent more people in working families in poverty in London than a decade ago

The number of Londoners in a working family in poverty has risen 70 per cent in the last decade, a report has found.

In 2005 there were 700,000 Londoners in working families in poverty, now the figure is 1.2million.

The fifth London Poverty Profile found that, after housing costs, 27 per cent of Londoners live in poverty, as do 20 per cent of those in the rest of England.

There are 860,000 people in poverty in private rented housing, more than in social rented or owner-occupied homes. A decade ago, private rented housing was the least common tenure of those in poverty.

The report analysed government statistics to produce the new indicators, which showed improvements in education and employment compared to ten years ago.

However, almost 700,000 jobs in the capital (18 per cent) pay below the London Living Wage, a number that has risen for the past five consecutive years alongside numbers of people sleeping rough.

It is estimated that 85,000 people are on temporary contracts and want permanent work and 140,000 working private renters need housing benefit to cover their rent.

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