On Tuesday 18 October, Centre for London is hosting a private roundtable event in partnership with the National Zakat Foundation (NZF) to discuss the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on local communities. This event is being held during London Challenge Poverty Week.

A small group of poverty and welfare experts from local government, charities and research institutions will assemble to learn from the experiences of London’s Muslim community during this cost-of-living crisis and connect key findings from the NZF to the broader fight against poverty in the capital.

Zakat is an obligatory form of charity in Islam and NZF works exclusively to collect and distribute these funds within the UK. In 2020, over 60 per cent of NZF’s zakat distribution was in London and applications to their Hardship Relief Fund soared because of rising costs.

In this roundtable we will ask:

• What can we learn about the impact of the cost-of-living crisis in London from the experiences of the Muslim community?
• To what extent is zakat offsetting the impact of rising costs for NZF’s recipients? How does the support of local communities balance the current welfare system in our response to crisis?
• How can aid organisations like NZF work effectively with government to develop a more rounded scheme of support to alleviate areas of local deprivation as opposed to benefit handouts and tax cuts?

This roundtable fits into Centre for London’s wider work to ensure the government recognises and addresses London’s own levelling up needs. See our interactive map to view key statistics on poverty, living costs, education and more in each London borough.

Chair

Claire Harding, Research Director, Centre for London

Presentation

Dr. Sohail Hanif, CEO, National Zakat Foundation

This is an invite-only roundtable and is being held under the Chatham House rule. If you’d like to attend, please email sana.ikram@centreforlondon.org.