The Shared Opportunities theme looks more broadly at the wide range of areas where we can see poverty, inequality and opportunity overlapping – for example, access to public services, the quality of public services, air quality and pollution, community cohesion, and a range of issues around violence, crime and other concerns, such as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).
19-year-olds without Level 2 or Level 3 qualifications (2004/05-2021/22)
Qualification levels of 19-year-olds have significantly improved over time. This is particularly evident in Inner London where the proportion of 19-year-olds without Level 3 qualifications (A Levels and equivalents) has fallen from 61.1% in 2004/05 to 29.4% in 2021/22. However, the COVID-19 pandemic could have had an impact on the data entries of the last two years, with school closures and changes in the means of assessment.
As a result of this, 19 year-olds in Inner London now perform on a par with young people in Outer London and better than their peers in the rest of England (where 41.1% of 19-year-olds lack Level 3 qualifications).
A similar trend can be seen in Level 2 qualifications (the equivalent of GCSEs), although the proportion of 19-year-olds without these qualifications (in London and the rest of England) has risen slightly …
Access to Healthy Assets and Hazards Index (rebased for London) (2019)
AHAH (the index of ‘Access to Health Assets and Hazards’) is a multi-dimensional index developed by the Consumer Data Research Centre (CDRC) for Great Britain measuring how ‘healthy’ neighbourhoods are. It combines indicators under four different domains of accessibility:
- Retail environment (access to fast food outlets, pubs, off-licences, tobacconists, gambling outlets);
- Health services (access to GPs, hospitals, pharmacies, dentists, leisure services);
- Physical environment (Blue Space, Green Space - Active, Green Space - Passive); and
- Air quality (Nitrogen Dioxide, Particulate Matter 10, Sulphur Dioxide).
The map here is rebased for London, so that 10% of areas in the city fall into the worst performing decile, the next 10% into the next decile, and so on. London is, in general, a relatively unhealthy place when compared to the countryside …
Level 3 attainment gap between Free School Meals and non-Free School Meals students at 19 years-of-age (2004/05-2021/22)
The attainment gap between advantaged and disadvantaged students is lower in Inner London than in Outer London and lower in Outer London than it is in the rest of England.
In Inner London in 2021/22, 19 year olds who were eligible for Free School Meals at the end of Key Stage 4 were 12.4 percentage points less likely to have gained Level 3 qualifications (equivalent to A levels) than their peers who were not eligible for Free School Meals. In Outer London the figure was 19.5 percentage points and in the rest of England it was 28.1 percentage points.
Looking over the past decade, the attainment gap has remained fairly consistent, with Inner London always having a smaller gap than Outer London or the rest of England. Based on this data alone, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has had a negligible impact on the attainment gap.
Although a ma…
Childhood obesity for children in Year 6 by London borough (2012/13 and 2022/23)
Childhood obesity is more prevalent in London than England overall. In 2022/23, 24.8% of children in Year 6 were considered obese in London, compared to 22.7% in England.
Over the last decade, the prevalence of childhood obesity has risen by 2.4 percentage points in London and 3.8 percentage points in England. The majority of London boroughs had a higher prevalence of childhood obesity than England overall in both 2012/13 and 2022/23.
Public Health England’s latest figures in 2022/23 show that Barking and Dagenham has the highest proportion of childhood obesity out of all London boroughs at 31.7%. The borough also had the largest rise in childhood obesity since 2012/13 (a 6.5 percentage point increase). At the other end of the scale, 12% of Year 6 children in Richmond upon Thames are obese in 2022/23 with just a 0.3 percentage point decrea…
English Index of Multiple Deprivation (rebased for London) (2019)
The Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) is an overall relative measure of deprivation constructed by combining 7 domains of deprivation (with different weightings). The Consumer Data Research Centre (CDRC) highlight how it varies with one of its domains - 'Education, Skills and Training', which measures the lack of attainment and skills in the local population.
The Education, Skills and Training domain (which makes up 13.5% of the overall index by weight) shows a more noticeable east-west variation than the overall index and its other domains, which typically have more of an inner/outer London pattern.
- Bexley, Bromley and Havering in the south-east and east of London score noticeably worse (more oranges/reds) in this domain than in the overall index which may reflect historical inequalities in education access that have persisted, in parti…
Crimes recorded by neighbourhood income deprivation decile in London (2023)
Recorded crime in London is more prevalent in the neighbourhoods with the higher levels of income deprivation:
- Overall, 40% more crimes were recorded in the most income-deprived areas in 2023, compared to the least income-deprived 10%
- Violence, robbery and sexual offences are 2.1 times more prevalent in the most income-deprived 10% of areas compared to the least income-deprived 10%
- Drugs and weapons offences, as well as Anti-social behaviour, public order and miscellaneous offences, are 2.2 times more prevalent in the most income-deprived 10% of areas compared to the least income-deprived 10%.
This latest crime data covering January - December 2023 shows a similar distribution of reported offences compared to the January 2022 - December 2022 period. While crime in the most deprived neighbourhoods has decreased by 3.5% between the two periods…
Destinations of KS5 school leavers in London, after two terms (2021/22)
30% of young people completing KS5 (post-GCSE qualifications) in London in 2021/22 were classed as disadvantaged, compared to 19% in the rest of England.
In London, the most common destination was higher education, with similar numbers of disadvantaged (54%) and non-disadvantaged (57%) students going to university. This is very different from the rest of England, where a lower proportion of people attend higher education overall, and the gap between disadvantaged (30%) and non-disadvantaged (44%) students is much greater.
In London, disadvantaged young people are less likely to enter work (15%, compared to 25% in the rest of England) or begin an apprenticeship (3%, compared to 7% in the rest of England).
Pupils are classified as disadvantaged in Year 11 if they are either eligible for free school meals in the last 6 years or were looked aft…
Digital Exclusion Risk Index: Overall Score (2021)
DERI (The Digital Exclusion Risk Index) has been produced by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, following on from an original project by Salford City Council to examine relative risk of digital exclusion by local communities in the area. The value of the index in the wider region, and across Great Britain, was recognised by the authority, which has therefore compiled the index to cover the whole country, and regularly updated and refined its methodology.
Using DERI can give an insight into areas which may suffer increased digital exclusion as public services move online. In London's case, this is another factor to consider when looking at London's poverty and deprivation picture in general.
Here, we look at the DERI v1.5 which was released in late 2021, and look to see how it can inform variations in the risk of exclusion to digita…
GCSE attainment - grades 9-4 in English and Maths by London borough (2021/22)
State-educated students in London have higher GCSE attainment rates than those in England as a whole. 74.3% of students in London achieved grades 9-4 (A*-C under the old grading system) in GCSE English and Maths in 2021/22 (down from 75.6% in 2020/21). This is compared to 69% in all of England (down from 72.2% in 2020/21).
Over three quarters of the London boroughs have a higher GCSE attainment rate than the average rate of England. The boroughs with the highest GCSE attainment rates are Richmond upon Thames, Kingston upon Thames and Sutton, which all saw over 82% of their students achieving grades 9-4 in English and Maths in 2021/22.
Six London boroughs have a lower GCSE attainment rate than the average rate of England. The boroughs with the lowest GCSE attainment rates are Lewisham and Lambeth, with 66.6% and 66.1% of their students ac…
GCSE attainment by ethnicity (2022/23)
GCSE attainment is higher in London than in England overall. This is true for both boys and girls, students who do not speak English as a first language, students with Special Educational Needs and students from minority ethnic backgrounds.
Attainment decreased from 2021/22 to 2022/23 in London and England across almost all groups. The only exceptions were Chinese students in London, whose grades improved, and Chinese students in England, whose grades stayed stable. The largest relative fall in attainment was recorded for students with a Special Educational Needs statement.
The decrease in grades from 2021/22 to 2022/23 is likely due to a return to normal examination formats after the big disruptions to the education system caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the previous two years, GCSE exams were cancelled - instead, students obtained te…
Infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births (2001-03 to 2020-22)
In 2020-2022 the average number of deaths per 1,000 live births was higher in England (4.0) than in London (3.6).
To get to this point, infant mortality rates had fallen significantly in both London and England over the last two decades. In 2001-2003 the rate was slightly higher in London than in England overall, with an average of 5.7 deaths per 1,000 live births, while in England this figure was 5.4. In 2009-2011 the infant mortality rates were on average similar (4.4) in both London and England.
In the years since, the infant mortality rate has fallenfell further in London (a reduction of 1 death per 1,000 live births) than in England (a reduction of 0.5 deaths per 1,000 live births), until 2014-16, which saw increases in London contrasting with England staying essentially the same.
The data is based on three-year averages and therefore …
Infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births by London borough (2019-21)
Whilst infant mortality rates vary significantly across London boroughs, in all but nine boroughs, they are lower than in England overall.
The average number of deaths per 1,000 live births in 2019 to 2021 was 3.3 in London, whereas in England it was 3.7. Hammersmith and Fulham is the borough with the highest infant mortality rate in London (6.1 per 1,000 live births). Camden is the London borough with the lowest infant mortality rate (1.7 per 1,000 live births).
Qualification levels of disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged KS5 leavers in London (2021/22)
In 2021/22, the majority of London’s KS5 school leavers of both disadvantaged (80%) and non-disadvantaged (86%) backgrounds had Level 3 qualifications (e.g. A-levels).
This is in contrast to the rest of England. A slightly lower proportion (84%) of non-disadvantaged KS5 school leavers had Level 3 qualifications, while only 67% of disadvantaged KS5 school leavers had a Level 3 qualification.
According to the Department for Education, students are considered disadvantaged in Year 11 and attract pupil premium funding if they are eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years, have been looked after by the local authority, or have been adopted from care.
Life expectancy at birth by borough for men and women (2020 to 2022)
This indicator shows overall life expectancy at birth in each London borough.
Overall life expectancy is consistently higher for women than for men across all London boroughs (2020-2022). The highest life expectancy for women is in Kensington and Chelsea (86.3 years), and in Richmond upon Thames for men (82.4).
The lowest life expectancy for both men and women is in Barking and Dagenham - 76.3 years and 80.4 years respectively.
Healthy life expectancy
Healthy life expectancy is the number of years a person can expect to live in good health rather than with a disability or in poor health.
Although women have a higher life expectancy than men in every borough, in some boroughs men have a longer healthy life expectancy. For example, in Tower Hamlets a man can expect to live 65.3 years in good health, compared to 57.8 years for a woman.
Albeit rec…
Standardised morbidity rates: alcohol-related (XALC) (2013)
Geographical disparities in health present important research and policy challenges. Disparities can be indicative of different forms of spatially patterned advantage or disadvantage. Local age and sex-standardised hospital admissions rates can provide insights into health disparities and may act as input into health geographic research or local policy instruments.
Certain disease groups are internationally recognised as being indicators of poverty and deprivation. Their wide variation in incidence rates across a large city such as London can therefore provide important supplementary information on areas of deprivation that might otherwise be missed, as well as possible interventions.
The maps here show the spatial distribution of various disease groups and alcohol-related conditions, across London. A spatially-smoothed, age- and sex-stand…
Personal wellbeing estimates by London borough (2021/22)
Living standards are not just about poverty, income and wealth. A wide range of other factors contribute to living standards and there is a large range of outcomes across London on many of these indicators. This indicator looks at the measures of well-being both in London and England before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Anxiety and life satisfaction are measured on a 0-10 scale, where 0 indicates low levels of anxiety and well-being, while 10 indicates high levels. As such, low anxiety scores indicate higher levels of well-being (lower anxiety), while low life satisfaction scores indicate lower levels of well-being.
In 2021/22, average well-being score in London (7.46) was lower than in England as a whole (7.55), with a substantial decrease in both scores compared to 2018/19 (7.58 and 7.71, respectively).
Most London boroughs score lowe…
Premature deaths per 100,000 under-75 year olds by London borough (2022)
When somebody under the age of 75 dies, it counts as a premature death. This indicator shows the number of premature deaths per 100,000 under-75 year olds in each London borough.
The average number of deaths per 100,000 under-75 year olds in England is 342, whereas in London it is 309.
Eight London boroughs have a rate of premature deaths higher than England’s average. These boroughs are generally in the east of the city- such as Barking and Dagenham (433 per 100,000 under-75 year olds), Hackney (404), and Tower Hamlets (394). The borough with the lowest premature death rate is Richmond (225 per 100,000).
City of London’s figures have been suppressed since their data sample is too small.
Road traffic collisions recorded by neighbourhood deprivation decile in London (2022)
Over 23,500 road collisions were recorded in London in 2022. The vast majority of these resulted in only slight injuries such as whiplash and bruising, but around 3,725 resulted in serious injuries such as fractures and burns. Sadly, 101 road collisions in London in 2021 led to the death of one or more drivers, passengers, riders, cyclists or pedestrians.
There are more road traffic collisions recorded in the most deprived neighbourhoods in London than the least deprived. The 10% of areas with the highest deprivation saw just under 2,800 collisions in 2022. This is more than double the 1,242 collisions in the 10% of areas with the lowest deprivation.
A similar pattern is also seen on 'local streets' - or streets with a speed limit below 30mph. This implies that collisions affect residents in deprived areas more, rather than just…
Average income deprivation percentile of the neighbourhoods schools are located in by Ofsted rating (2023)
Ofsted ratings are given to schools by inspectors and range from “Inadequate” to “Outstanding”. Ratings are based on a range of observations about a school's performance.
This indicator shows that, on average, the better a school’s Ofsted rating is, the less deprived a neighbourhood it tends to be located in.
While this is true across the country, the relationship is less pronounced in London than in the rest of England. This means that children in London who live in deprived neighbourhoods are more likely to have a school with a good Ofsted rating in their neighbourhood than those living in deprived neighbourhoods in the rest of the country.
This is particularly true for London secondary schools, where there is not a clear relationship between schools’ Ofsted rating and the deprivation of the neighbourhood in which they are located, i…
Average travel time by public transport to jobs and services by neighbourhood income deprivation decile (2019)
Based on average travel times by public transport, Londoners have much better access to jobs and services than people in the rest of England. For example, the average journey time by public transport to the nearest large employment centre from the 10% most deprived areas is 21 minutes in London compared to 25 minutes in the rest of England.
For the same measure, people living in the most income-deprived areas of London have slightly better access than those in less income-deprived areas. The average journey time to public services (such as schools, GPs and hospitals) is more than 25% longer for the least deprived areas in London than the most deprived areas.
Journey times are only part of how well Londoners can access jobs and services. Price is also an important factor with people on low incomes unable to make the most of the opportunit…