Building Recovery: Closing the gap: Closing the gap

Large inequalities in wealth and shared opportunities have long been a problem in London. Before the Covid-19 crisis, 28% of Londoners were found to be living in poverty, compared to 22% across the UK. The Covid-19 pandemic has amplified pre-existing socioeconomic inequalities in the nation’s capital, with shocking and disproportionate effects seen in relation to factors such as gender, ethnicity, disability and age.

	The widening gap in numbers
307,000	More Londoners have made unemployment related claims since March 2020 [1]
23%	Increase in homelessness in the capital in the last quarter of 2020 [2]
£350 – £720	Predicted loss in income for ethnic minority households in London due to tax and welfare changes
1 in 12	Private renters in London have fallen behind on their rent during lockdown [3]

Recovery was one of the biggest challenges of 2021. Critical to this was addressing the devastating impact of Covid-19, as well as Brexit, on equalities. With pressures including ongoing crisis management, uncertainty, resource deficit and a lack of joined–up working, it has been hard to know which way to turn.

Future of London’s major 2021 project – Building Recovery: Closing the Gap – shared successful approaches to tackling the equity gap from across the capital, as well as other UK and overseas cities. Linking to London’s recovery missions, themes included: upskilling for green and growth industries, affordable homes, public space, transport, and culture and the arts in London and beyond. The programme shone a light on innovative projects working to close the equity gap and explore how new ways of collaborating across sectors – including communities – can safeguard fairer cities for all.