Two league tables published last week by London Food Link, part of the charity Sustain, highlight the positive steps London Living Wage accredited councils are taking to tackling poverty and improving food and care for children. The London Living Wage is voluntarily paid by over 1000 employers in London and is annually calculated based on the real cost of Living which is why it is higher than the government minimum.
In its seventh year of publication, the Good Food for London report tracks what London Local Authorities are doing to help create a good food system that benefits all Londoners. This was published alongside the third edition of the sister report: Beyond the Food Bank, which monitors what London councils are doing to improve household food security.
For a considerable number of Londoners, including many who work, food poverty is a daily reality due to a number of causes including low pay and the rising cost of living in the capital. Reliance on foodbanks is at an all-time high and research conducted by the Trussell Trust shows that low income is one of the biggest reasons for referral, second only to benefit delays with the rollout of Universal Credit.
One of the significant contributions outlined in the report that local authorities can make to tackling the financial barriers to healthy diet is paying and promoting the London Living Wage. Raising incomes is the surest way to lift people out of poverty, and therefore food poverty. As of June 2017, 16 out of 33 London local authorities were accredited Living Wage employers:
- Brent
- Camden
- Croydon
- City of London
- Ealing
- Enfield
- Greenwich
- Hackney
- Hammersmith and Fulham
- Hounslow
- Islington
- Lambeth
- Lewisham
- Southwark
- Tower Hamlets
- Waltham Forest
The report celebrates Living Wage Foundation accredited councils for their commitment to ensuring access to healthy and sustainable food, and tackling food poverty in their areas. Leading the league tables are the London Boroughs of Islington, Lambeth and Tower Hamlets and the Royal Borough of Greenwich.
A report from the Living Wage Foundation and Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) published earlier this year identified a positive 'ripple effect' on local business when their council get Living Wage accreditation. Therefore, councils that become Living Wage employers are making a conscious effort to increase wages locally, but they're also using civic leadership to promote the scheme more widely. For example, Lewisham and Greenwich councils offer business rates discounts to accredited Living Wage employers in their boroughs. Meanwhile, Brent and Croydon councils are Living Wage Friendly Funders, supporting charities to pay the Living Wage through grant-making.
The Living Wage Foundation are proud to partner with Sustain on Good Food for London and Beyond the Foodbank reports. The reports are accompanied by the launch of a new website that includes interactive maps showing London council leadership on the Living Wage. It is important to recognise the improved efforts being made by an increasing amount of London councils to champion the Living Wage in their boroughs by not only accrediting, but also promoting accreditation in their supply chains, their local businesses and communities.