The IPR Impact Report can be downloaded here.

Chair’s Report

Welcome to IPR’s 2023 to 2024 Impact Report. It’s been an eventful and rewarding year at the charity with essential support provided to thousands of Islington residents. IPR’s amazing team of staff and volunteers team have been on the frontline of the cost of living crisis and every day has brought new challenges as well as stories of real hope.   

Helping people avoid homelessness or destitution is a critically important role for IPR. We see so many families or individuals battling poverty and needing our advice and support to get their finances back on track. In recent years disabled people have especially taken the brunt as they have been at the sharp end of welfare cuts. This situation does not look like changing soon whoever is in Government and sadly it falls to charities such as IPR to ensure that disabled residents secure their essential benefit entitlements. 

Our Caseworkers report that they have seen a big upsurge in the numbers of people with large rent and utility debts. This is the predictable outcome of the very high rates of inflation in the year and the fact that the incomes of the poorest people have simply not kept pace. To meet this need IPR has worked hard to attract the funding needed to provide our services and I’m pleased to say that our main sources of support have continued to recognise the importance of our work.   

As always I must say a huge thank you to our staff and volunteers for all of their efforts as well as the grant making trusts and other funders for their vital contributions to our work. We are particularly grateful to Islington Council for committing to a further 4 years of funding, until March 2028. The Impact Report 2023-24 reveals what we have achieved during 2023 to 2024 and our strong commitment to keep supporting those most in need into the future.

David Moore

The IPR Impact Report can be downloaded here.

Chair’s Report

IPR’s 2022 to 2023 Impact Report is an opportunity for everyone at the charity to look back over another 12 eventful months. Over the year our fantastic staff and volunteers team have been working hard to alleviate the worst cost of living crisis in living memory. 

Every day brings home the great responsibility we have in preventing destitution. We see so many people who urgently need help. It may be a severely disabled person who has had an essential benefit removed or a family facing homelessness as debts have overwhelmed them. Every day the skill and dedication of our advice workers is put to the test as they battle what can often seem a very hostile system.

A good example is our project helping families with disabled children. They are entitled to disability benefits but often don’t claim them because of a lack of information, a too complex process or simply because they are too busy in their caring roles. It’s very important that Islington’s residents know we are there for them as the cost of living crisis translates into a debt crisis for thousands of residents.

Additional achievements to highlight over the year include a new partnership with the Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust that is providing support for people with acute mental health issues. IPR also secured a further two year commitment from the Thames Water Trust Fund to help people manage their water and other utility bills.

In addition to paying tribute to our staff and volunteers I must thank all of the grant making trusts whose support makes much of our work possible. In addition, a big thank you must also go to the individual donors to IPR who have supported us through events like the London Legal Walk. Every penny matters and is much appreciated.

David Moore

The IPR Annual Review can be downloaded here.

Chair’s Report

IPR operates on the frontline of the battle against poverty. The year has once again been dominated by the Covid pandemic and its fallout – its severe impact on disabled people, those in low paid work and people of colour. Our staff and volunteers have worked tirelessly to make sure thousands of residents have received the essential support needed to avoid unmanageable debts and destitution. This is more important than ever as the Cost Of Living Crisis begins to impact majorly on our client group. 

Over the 12 months our team returned to face to face appointments where possible although much of the work continues to be remote from people’s homes. It remains to be seen if this is a lasting trend. We know that some people prefer to be able to talk directly to their adviser in the same way that some staff prefer to work in an office and so having both options is important. 

Achievements to highlight over the year include securing a three year grant from the Trust for London for IPR Justice. This has not only boosted our support for people’s appeals where they have been refused disability benefits, it has enabled us to have a positive impact on policy and practice around tribunals. 

IPR increased capacity to meet the extra demand related to the pandemic and we extended our initiative assisting those with water and other debts. Funding was also secured from health commissioners to deliver a new service for people leaving hospital and others experiencing acute mental ill health. We also linked with the Manor Gardens Centre, where we are based, supporting their clients, including those linked to their emerging social prescribing service.

I must pay tribute to our amazing team of staff, volunteers and Trustees for all of their efforts over the year. They have once again shown a tremendous commitment to keep making a positive impact for people in the greatest need.

I hope that this Annual Review will give you an insight into our work during 2021-2022. It is also a chance for IPR to acknowledge and thank our supporters including the London Borough of Islington and grant making trusts without whom none of this would happen.

David Moore

The IPR Annual Review can be downloaded here.

Chair’s Report

As with charities throughout the country the year has been dominated by the pandemic. Before Covid and the first lockdown in March 2020 appointments were offered at our base in Holloway and another centre in south Islington but these had to quickly move to being by phone and online. Thanks to the exceptional work of the staff this huge change was achieved without any interruption to our services. IPR was successful in securing emergency grants from the London Community Response Fund to pay for IT, phones, training and software to quickly make the transition needed.

IPR has supported many residents to access emergency support. It is well recognised that the pandemic has disproportionately affected certain groups of residents including people with mental health issues, physical disabilities, carers and those from BAMER communities. There are now 26,500 households in receipt of Council Tax Support in Islington, indicative of the hardship caused by Covid and other factors. 246 additional households including 329 more children have also now been affected by the benefit cap as a result – an increase of 96%.

Another big development in the year has been the launch of the IPR Justice project. Full details of this exciting initiative are in this Review. The inspiration for IPR Justice is to use our extensive experience working in Islington to have a wider impact on policy and practice throughout the UK. This is an exciting ambition and one that we hope will translate into real benefits for many disabled people in the years ahead.

This Annual Review is a chance to acknowledge and thank all of those who have supported our work during 2020-2021. The London Borough of Islington has continued its commitment to our activities. IPR is also supported by a number of key grant making trusts who resource projects that are designed to help some of the most disadvantaged communities in the borough. Then there are the people who have raised money through special events such as the London Legal Walk – thank you all.

IPR has a fantastic team of staff, volunteers and Trustees who have worked tirelessly through one of the most challenging years in our 51-year history. As you will read in the following pages we are looking forward with renewed commitment and ambition to tackle poverty in Islington and beyond.

David Moore

The IPR Annual Review can be downloaded here.

Chair’s Report

2019-2020 was certainly a very big year for IPR. We celebrated our 50th anniversary with a series of great events, including a major exhibition at Islington Museum, and an evening with Ken Loach and screening of “Cathy Come Home”. IPR@50 gave the organisation an opportunity to tell its story, including highlighting some of the people who have given so much to the organisation over five decades.

Just as these celebrations were coming to an end, in the first months of 2020 the Covid-19 pandemic changed everything. It was essential that our services helping many of the most needy residents in Islington continued seamlessly. In fact, demand increased significantly with so many local people suddenly finding themselves out of work and needing to access welfare benefits and debt advice. It’s a credit to all the staff that the service switched so quickly and efficiently to operating through home-working and that IPR was able to continue to offer its service throughout the lockdown and subsequently.

Some key statistics from IPR’s year were:

• Direct specialist advice benefiting over 2,800 people
• Support for 130 clients at benefits tribunal appeals with a success rate of over 90%
• Three quarters of our clients say they have mental health problems

As in previous years we must give particular thanks to the London Borough of Islington for their continuing strong financial commitment to our work. Also thank you to the trusts that have given funding this year to resource our special initiatives such as our work to support carers and those with families with children that have complex disabilities. I must also thank individual supporters who have supported those that have walked, run and cycled in aid of IPR. We will continue to ensure that every penny will be put to good use and will help those most affected by poverty and disadvantage in our community.

In these especially challenging times I am pleased to say that everyone including the trustees, staff and volunteers at IPR remain focused on doing all that we can to improve the prospects of thousands more people in the year ahead.

David Moore