Search questions

Incidence and Nature of Poverty in London (Supplementary) [7]
- Question by: Mike Tuffrey
- Meeting date: 19 July 2006
I won't pursue that, because we have some questions on the employment piece a little later, so I was just going to follow on from Angie (Bray). If the 60% of median income, which as she rightly says is a relative measure, is not merely statistical convenience, because there are exclusion or inequality issues, I wonder whether John could help us in terms of the balance between policy measures that address the absolutes and policy measures that should be reducing inequality, because they clearly are differing strands. If the argument is that we need to do both, how do we...
Incidence and Nature of Poverty in London (Supplementary) [8]
- Question by: Brian Coleman
- Meeting date: 19 July 2006
Before I bring in Mr Tuffrey, I wonder, Mr Faulkner, whether you would like to make a contribution about the role of the Chamber of Commerce, and particularly, I know, your particular expertise on the Skills and Employment Forum, and the role it is playing in reducing poverty?
Incidence and Nature of Poverty in London (Supplementary) [9]
- Question by: Murad Qureshi
- Meeting date: 19 July 2006
I was just wondering what the impact of the minimum wage has been in London in reducing relative poverty. Clearly, it affects those in employment, rather than those outside it, but I would like some idea of what the experts feel has been the impact.
Incidence and Nature of Poverty in London (Supplementary) [10]
- Question by: Brian Coleman
- Meeting date: 19 July 2006
I am happy to take a response from you, Mr Faulkner, but I do not want to discuss the merits of the Oyster card.
Incidence and Nature of Poverty in London (Supplementary) [11]
- Question by: Nicky Gavron
- Meeting date: 19 July 2006
You've just said that the proportion of children living below the poverty line in lone-parent families is high ' I do not know if you have the exact figures?
Incidence and Nature of Poverty in London (Supplementary) [12]
- Question by: Geoff Pope
- Meeting date: 19 July 2006
Given that there is a clear policy to move fully to cashless bus services, which will then have an level playing field, would it not be sensible to explore a campaign to get the last few people over to Oyster cards, including giving out free Oyster cards to people, particularly on the bus routes, where cash is being used a great deal. Brian Coleman (Chairman): I think perhaps, Mr Pope, that this is a specific item of policy which is for the Transport Committee, which you chair, to take up.
Incidence and Nature of Poverty in London (Supplementary) [13]
- Question by: Mike Tuffrey
- Meeting date: 19 July 2006
Any other thoughts in terms of dealing with this bottom-end problem, and the relativity?
Incidence and Nature of Poverty in London (Supplementary) [14]
- Question by: Damian Hockney
- Meeting date: 19 July 2006
I just want to briefly return to this business of definitions, because some mathematicians have calculated that one of the reasons why there are so many variations in different countries about what is defined on the 60% median of people in poverty is because, quite simply, if you change your tax structure slightly, if in Britain the Government were simply to tax slightly more heavily those just above the poverty level, you could, at a stroke, to use an old phrase, remove half a million people from poverty. Now, even if we accept these definitions, and I appreciate, Kate (Kate...
Incidence and Nature of Poverty in London (Supplementary) [15]
- Question by: Angie Bray
- Meeting date: 19 July 2006
No, no, indeed, because I think that is an important point, because I think that in the mindset of the public it is confusing when you hear that x percent of people in London are technically living at or below the poverty line. I wondered if that definition would still be applicable if the median income rose considerably in London. One might feel that the definition was less, then, to do with poverty. I suppose I am asking you: are we talking about relative poverty as opposed to absolute poverty?
Incidence and Nature of Poverty in London (Supplementary) [16]
- Question by: Damian Hockney
- Meeting date: 19 July 2006
Would you all support the idea, then, of removing from tax, the poor, as other countries are gradually doing? We should stop taking money away from the ones we are defining as poor, which leaves them poor, and creates dependency upon the state, while still worrying about the number of and the percentage of people in poverty. Surely, we should strip out their tax, get rid of their taxation, remove it. Many of them will then immediately not be poor. Surely we would all agree with that.