Is London Broke and does it need fixing 18 January 2010 Bridget Rosewell Chief Economic Adviser

Is London broke?  High poverty levels  Crowded, expensive, dirty  Diverse  High productivity  Growing  Successful

Child poverty higher in London and resistant to change

Higher poverty among adults too

Men less likely to work

Women even less likely to work

And the unskilled find it hard to get jobs

Housing is expensive

On rail too...

And road speeds still falling

Specialisation in productive sectors

Ability to transform itself

A highly productive economy

Huge accessibility

A high end centre

And well spread facilities

Positive trends even after recession

London civilian workforce jobs Source: Office for National Statistics

Tax levels may become a problem

Because deficits are significant

Large imbalances in public sector spending, which predate current recession

Debt still not historically high but rapid rises are a real problem

Nor out of line internationally

The challenge  To maintain investment  Maintain pressure on long standing and embedded problems  Support the successful