A council cabinet member says Harrow’s administration is tackling the problem of low pay in the borough.

The comments come after figures from the charity Trust for London show Harrow has the highest proportion of low paid jobs at 33 per cent, which is joint highest in London with Bexley.

The research, carried out for the charity by the New Policy Institute, also shows one in five jobs across the whole of the capital is now low paid.

Harrow Borough Council’s cabinet member for corporate resources and policy Graham Henson, said: “It’s statistics like this that show how the Government’s so-called economic recovery is only benefiting the few at the top and not the vast majority of working people.

“We are tackling the problem of low pay in Harrow head on, working with all of the council’s suppliers as well as local businesses to encourage them to pay the London living wage.

“We already pay all of our staff the London living wage and want to see other employers in Harrow make the same commitment.”

In a cabinet meeting last month the Labour administration agreed a new procurement strategy.

The new strategy includes a survey of 100 companies the authority purchases goods and services from asking if they pay the London living wage or not.

The London living wage is an amount intended to reflect the cost of living in the capital, and at £8.80 per hour is higher than the national minimum wage, currently set at £6.31.