Families receiving in-work benefits

The proportion of working-age families receiving Tax Credits

Definitions

Here we look at benefits that supplement working income: the Child and Working Tax Credits (CTC and WTC). Families who only get the near-universal family element of child tax credit are excluded, as this is paid to all except the 10% of families with the highest incomes. The figures also exclude those families who receive tax credits but are not working.

What does the graph show?

At about 13%, London has one of the lowest proportions of working families receiving tax credits anywhere in the country, second only to the South East. This may be because people are less likely to be low paid in London. This rate is about three-fifths of that in the North East region.

Since the thresholds for tax credits are set nationally and working London residents, both full-and part-time, are less likely to be low paid than anywhere else in the country, pay is likely to play a role in accounting for the difference between regions.

London does also have a high proportion of workless households, so a lower proprtion of households eligible for the working tax credit. Noticeably, though, the other regions with low levels of tax credit recipiency - the East, South East and South West - actually have high levels of employment.

The overall proportion and number of households receiving tax credits has risen substantially over time - by around 100,000 families between 2007 and 2009. This change is not unique to London - numbers have risen everywhere - but the rise in London appears to be greater than the national average

A couple of shortcomings with this measure should be noted. While it is families that receive tax credits, that number is expressed here as a proportion of the total number of households (which can sometimes contain more than one family). Moreover, the figure is a proportion of all households, not just working households.

Data used

Geographic Analyses, HM Revenue & Customs 2009

Indicator last updated: 9 September 2010

Other indicators in Children

• Poverty in Inner and Outer London
• Child ill health
• Infant deaths by borough
• Attainment at age 11 by borough
• Free school meals and attainment at age 11
• Households in temporary accommodation
• Underage conception by borough
• Children in workless households over time
• Attainment at age 11 by region
• Child, adult and pensioner poverty
• London's low income population
• Child poverty and work
• Child and adult poverty and work

Other indicators in Families

• Families receiving in-work benefits in London
• Child poverty and work
• Child and adult poverty and work

Other indicators in Working-age adults

• Poverty in Inner and Outer London
• Working-age out-of-work benefits by region
• Working age out-of-work benefits within London
• Income inequality in London compared with other English regions
• Income inequalities within London boroughs
• Pay inequalities within London
• Working-age adults lacking work over time
• Working-age adults lacking work by borough
• Adult ill health
• Adult ill-health by borough
• Low-paid residents by borough
• Low-paid jobs by borough
• Low income and ethnicity in London
• Lacking work by ethnicity
• Not working by country of birth
• Not working by ethnicity and country of birth
• Low pay by ethnicity
• Premature death by borough
• Low-paid residents by region
• Low-paid jobs by sub-region
• Working age out-of-work benefits by borough
• Unemployment rates over time
• Unemployment numbers by sub-region
• Unemployment by ethnicity, country of birth and gender
• Unemployment in London by age
• Part-time work
• Job Seeker's Allowance by region
• Job Seeker's Allowance by borough
• Child, adult and pensioner poverty
• London's low income population
• Child and adult poverty and work
• Recession impact on out-of-work benefits
• Young adult unemployment over time

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