Material Deprivation
When people cannot afford the goods and services considered to indicate a minimum acceptable norm in society, this is described as material deprivation. Around one in eight pensioners in London cannot afford these basic essentials, up to one in five living in Inner London. This compares with one in twelve of all UK pensioners.
Four per cent of all London’s children live in material deprivation and in families in severe low income, that is less than half the typical UK family’s income, before taking housing costs into account. That is lower than in some other regions of the UK, though housing costs are much higher in London, which impacts on both higher income, for example, from housing benefits or allowances for some, as well as higher costs.
In 2020/21-22/23, London has among the lowest proportions of its working age population living in both material deprivation and low income, before taking housing costs into account, when compared to other parts of the UK.