Phillips lets loose on London’s problems

The high cost of local authority child care costs in London
looked like “an ideal candidate” for an inquiry by the Greater
London Assembly, Trevor Phillips, chairperson of the assembly, told
delegates.

He was responding to a Haringey social worker who said her local
authority child care was eating into one-third of her salary, and
having a huge impact on her quality of life in London. This has led
to her to considering moving back to the Midlands.

Another delegate blamed the soaring house prices in London for
forcing public service workers out of the capital, in search of
affordable property.

Phillips admitted it was an impossible situation when the
average income was slightly under £40,000 per household but
the average family home cost £200,000.

As the first chairperson of the London assembly he said local
government must finds ways of giving people ownership of public
services, but he admitted that currently the assembly was alienated
from the people it served.