Tower Hamlets faces a significant challenge with an estimated 117,000 to 130,000 residents living in poverty, despite the borough's economic success. This was highlighted during a recent Overview & Scrutiny Committee meeting where the Anti-Poverty Rapid Needs Assessment was discussed.
The assessment reveals that poverty is widespread, with 40% of residents living in relative poverty after housing costs. Child poverty, in particular, almost doubles after housing costs are considered, rising from 26.7% to over 50%. A stark statistic revealed that 84% of households in poverty are working households, underscoring the issue of low pay and insecure employment.
Councillor Mohammed Hasan Mahmud, Chair of the Housing and Regeneration Scrutiny Sub-Committee, questioned why housing interventions were not prioritised given housing costs are the single biggest driver of poverty. Amy Jackson, Director of Tackling Inequality and Engagement, explained that a multifaceted approach is being adopted, acknowledging housing as a critical factor. The council's Strategic Plan 2026-2030 outlines a commitment to deliver as many family-sized affordable and social homes as possible at pace, taking our total delivery between 2022-2030 to 12,000 homes.
Further commitments include making better use of existing stock and take action to quickly turnaround empty homes
and opposing emergency planning measures that weaken affordable housing requirements and champion the delivery of up to 40% affordable housing in new developments.
The Mayor's Accelerated Housing Programme (MAHP) aims to bring forward up to 3,300 new homes over the next five years, with at least 50% being affordable and a strong emphasis on larger family-sized homes. The council is also acquiring homes from developers as social rented homes to help kickstart delivery of schemes.
Councillor Kamrul Hussain, Vice Chair of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee, raised concerns about working households in poverty. Ms. Jackson acknowledged this as shocking
and emphasised that employment alone is not the solution, necessitating a multifaceted strategy that addresses barriers such as caring responsibilities and low pay. Discussions also touched upon the council's role as an employer and commissioner, with calls for more robust social value requirements from suppliers to ensure fair pay. The meeting information identifies several barriers to employment and financial stability for working households in poverty, beyond low pay and caring responsibilities. These include employment insecurity
with work is not paying for people in Tower Hamlets in far too many places.
Structural barriers such as limited proficiency of English or digital exclusion
were also cited. Pressures within the benefit system are evident, with 27% of UC claimants in TH are in work but wages insufficient
, 150,600 UC households are benefit capped
, and 4,490 households with 3+ children were affected by two-child limit.
The complexity of the support system for low-income residents makes it difficult for those experiencing multiple disadvantages, and poverty stigma actively deters help-seeking.
Councillor Rupert George highlighted the lack of focus on the economic benefits of decarbonisation in creating well-paid jobs and questioned the alignment of anti-poverty work with the Strategic Plan. He also drew parallels with job creation initiatives during the 2012 Olympics, advocating for safeguarding local jobs in future developments.
Child poverty was a significant concern, with Councillor Abulkashem Mohammed Helal questioning why it was not the main focus. Ms. Jackson responded that while child poverty is urgent, tackling poverty more broadly is essential to help children, as they are affected by parental low income and housing costs. The map of income deprivation affecting children across Tower Hamlets illustrates the scale of this issue.
Councillor Gulam Kibria Choudhury raised concerns about the significant amount of unclaimed benefits and the effectiveness of welfare advisory services. Ms. Jackson acknowledged these challenges, stating that the Crisis and Resilience Fund aims to boost capacity and coordination of welfare advice services. It was noted that there is £187 million in unclaimed benefits in the borough every year,
with 55% of this being Universal Credit (UC), 9% Council Tax Reduction (CTR), and 9% Carer's Allowance.
Councillor Halima Islam, Chair of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee, inquired about measurable changes residents could expect. Ms. Jackson identified three key priorities: reducing child poverty, tackling in-work poverty by working with companies and focusing on the borough's economic strategy, and building financial resilience services to increase benefit uptake and reduce debt. She also highlighted the need to drive down the number of residents needing debt advice, noting that 26.4% of residents are in need of debt advice in Tower Hamlets,
which is described as the highest percentage nationally.
Over a quarter of residents are in significant debt, defined as being in two or more core debts - council tax debt, utilities debt, overdraft debt, credit card debt all of those like significant debts in one's life.
The primary causes mentioned are low pay, insecure work and the cost of housing.
