Islington's Executive is set to consider a report on supporting residents towards financial resilience at its upcoming meeting on 25 June 2026.
The report, originating from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, examines how the Council can enhance its support for residents facing long-term poverty and inequality. It builds upon previous scrutiny work addressing the immediate impacts of the cost-of-living crisis.
The committee's review aimed to identify communities most affected by poverty, understand barriers to accessing services, and assess the effectiveness of current Council initiatives. It also explored opportunities for early intervention, prevention, and sustainable support, gathering evidence from voluntary, community, and faith sector partners, as well as residents.
Communities most affected by poverty in Islington include:
- Residents with disabilities and long-term health conditions.
- Global majority communities.
- Households with children, particularly lone parents and larger families.
- Wheelchair users.
- Residents in the most deprived areas.
- Black and Bangladeshi communities.
- Residents experiencing financial hardship, debt, and those with No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF).
- Residents who are digitally excluded or face language barriers.
- Residents in temporary accommodation and the private rented sector.
- Children eligible for free school meals (41.5% of primary pupils).
- Residents experiencing trauma and mistrust of institutions.
- Residents from Somali, Black Caribbean, and Black African backgrounds.
- Teenage girls and young women.
Barriers to accessing services identified for residents include:
- Complexity of systems, including council structures and online platforms.
- Distrust of services due to past negative experiences and trauma.
- Language barriers.
- Digital exclusion.
- Stigma and shame, particularly around accessing food support.
- Lack of awareness of available support.
- Inaccessible and intimidating communication, such as council tax letters.
- Limited capacity and resources within both Council services and VCS partners.
- Physical constraints and infrastructure issues on housing estates.
- Gendered use of spaces, with teenage girls feeling unwelcome or unsafe.
- Lack of dedicated spaces for teenagers, especially girls, who desire more social and creative spaces.
- Safety concerns in public spaces.
- Limited access to green space and overcrowding.
- Cost barriers for pay-to-play facilities and essential utilities.
Key findings from the review highlighted the shift in VCS organisations' work from aspirational support to crisis management, with many residents needing help with immediate survival needs. Participants stressed the importance of sustained, relational support and integrated services, noting that poverty intersects with mental health, physical health, and wider financial exclusion.
Current Council initiatives assessed for their effectiveness include:
- Income Maximisation Team (IMAX).
- Access Islington Hubs.
- Thriving Neighbourhoods programme.
- Bright Start.
- Parks for Health strategy.
- School Streets Initiative.
- Liveable Neighbourhoods Programme.
- OPAL Play programme (in schools).
- Housing initiatives.
- Community Safety initiatives.
- Private Rented Sector Licensing Schemes.
- Local Initiatives Fund (LIF).
The report also draws on best practices from the City of Edinburgh and City of York Councils, emphasizing compassionate communication, cash-first support, and community-led initiatives. The importance of addressing systemic issues, such as benefit delays and national policy impacts, was also raised.
Systemic issues beyond benefit delays and national policy impacts include:
- Complexity of systems and digital exclusion.
- Language barriers.
- Lack of dedicated and gender-sensitive spaces for teenagers.
- Safety concerns in public spaces.
- Limited green space and overcrowding.
- Stigma and shame.
- Lack of sustained, relational support.
- Housing insecurity.
- Fragmented support services.
- Low awareness of services.
- Capacity and resource constraints.
- Manufacturer restrictions on electrical repairs.
- Ageing infrastructure and inconsistent maintenance of play areas.
Best practices from Edinburgh and York Councils and their adaptation for Islington:
York's approach includes a Poverty Truth Commission, whole-city responsibility for poverty, multi-agency partnerships, compassionate communication (e.g., rewriting council tax letters), a Financial Inclusion Steering Group, proactive signposting, and cross-council working. Edinburgh's approach features a high-profile Poverty Truth Commission, cash-first support, system reforms (e.g., allowing residents without fixed addresses to use the council as an official address), embedding multi-agency partnerships, removing security guards from reception areas, automating benefit checks, and negotiating with the DWP for improved data sharing. They also emphasize trusted partners, relational practice, and city-level leadership.
Islington can adapt these by strengthening its Poverty Truth Commission, commissioning research on the financial benefits of income maximisation, improving communication to be clearer and more compassionate, enhancing face-to-face outreach, and deepening collaboration with VCS organisations, faith groups, and health partners for integrated support. The council can also focus on embedding dignity and compassion in all resident interactions and exploring practical systemic reforms.
The Overview and Scrutiny Committee made twelve recommendations regarding play spaces and services in Islington, focusing on mapping play spaces with children's input, developing a standalone Play Strategy aligned with the Child Friendly Islington mission, updating planning guidance for developers to consider play equipment standards, ensuring adequate lighting and safety in play spaces, continuing direct community engagement, championing doorstep play, supporting the expansion of Bright Start's outdoor programme, launching a communication campaign for active play, promoting adventure play as complementary to school enrichment programmes, requiring inclusive and accessible play equipment, establishing a permanent Teen Girls' Design Panel, and securing sustainable funding for adventure playgrounds.
The Executive will receive the committee's report and note its recommendations. A formal response from the Executive Member, Councillor Saiqa Pandor, will be provided at a future meeting, considering the implications of the committee's findings. The Executive Member's response to the recommendations from the Scrutiny Review of Improving Healthy Life Expectancy in Islington will be reported to a future meeting of the Executive. The Scrutiny Committee has also requested an annual update on the life course approach and progress on the Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy's 'Start Well' ambition.
