A technical report on the calculation of a minimum London Weighting

This technical report builds on the analysis and methodology set out by Hirsch (2016) in the report London Weighting and London costs – a fresh approach?. This analysis followed the publication of the first Minimum Income Standard for London (Padley et al, 2015) and used this research as the basis for proposing a new way of calculating a London Weighting. The report positioned the fresh approach in an historical context, reviewed current practice and made recommendations about the level at which a London Weighting could be set.

Much has changed in the intervening six years. The annual updates of the Minimum Income Standard (MIS) for London have tracked and described changes in public views of decent living standards in the capital over this period, setting out what this means for minimum household earnings as well as charting what proportion of Londoners actually have the income needed to reach this living standard. The broad political and economic context is also different to 2016, with some significant shifts in the social security system and the continued roll out of Universal Credit, as well as changes in costs affecting a minimum budget.

It is in this context that the approach to calculating a minimum London Weighting has been revised and updated. This briefing sets out this approach to calculating a London Weighting, highlighting the assumptions underpinning this and what would be needed in the future to further refine the calculation.