Poverty in Newham: Exploring the factors affecting movement in and out poverty

Presenter: Sarah Johnson, London Borough of Newham

The London Borough of Newham has historically had high levels of poverty and deprivation but in the last few years progress has been made. Newham has moved from the being the second most deprived local authority in England to the 25th in the latest Indices of Multiple Deprivations figures. Findings from Newham Household Panel Survey (NHPS), a panel survey undertaken by Newham Council, shows overall poverty levels have decreased wave on wave from 39% in 2013 to 34% in 2015. But data from Understanding Society show Newham still has significantly higher levels poverty compared to national levels. NHPS enables Newham Council to undertake longitudinal analysis using data from its residents and is the only local authority to undertake a panel survey, which has been running since 2002 and is now in its ninth wave. This presentation will explore the issue of poverty of Newham and provide details of longitudinal analysis conducted using conditional change models. These models used the latest data of NHPS to explore factors linked with transitions both into and out of poverty. The findings show key factors associated with a movement into poverty in Newham include being female, Asian, a change in income and being behind on bills. The findings of these models are used by the Council to get a better understanding of it residents and help develop policy for those most in need.