Download a copy of our IPR Annual Review 2018 (PDF)

Chair’s Report, 2018

Welcome to our 2018 Annual Review. It’s been quite a year! We’ve expanded our services, moving into financial literacy work that supports our clients in dealing with money issues longer-term; we’ve helped more vulnerable people find solutions to their problems and have been instrumental in driving forward the debate about the impact of Universal Credit on Islington residents. Although we’re open to everyone, we mainly work on the margins of society with people who are hard to reach and whose problems, if left unchecked, can have a dramatic effect on their lives. To do this most effectively within our resources we have concentrated on governance this year.

Good governance is at the heart of any successful long-term operation and we simply cannot cut corners. We have refreshed the Trustee Board, ensured new measures for control and oversight are in place and instigated an improved business and work planning cycle. This demonstrates to our stakeholders that we are an organisation that knows its business, knows its direction and knows how to turn words into action.

Our plans over the coming years are fivefold:

• To ensure we know exactly who we are helping by gathering better data;
• To reach and help more people;
• To support our brilliant staff team and develop our own talent;
• To diversify our income further to build resilience;
• To be a positive agent for change in Islington and beyond.

We have made great strides with this plan already yet there is much work still to be done. Universal Credit is now in place in Islington and already we are seeing some
of the devastating effects this chronically under-resourced system is having on our clients. We are pleased that its effects have gained so much national attention and
we will continue to raise endemic issues with our MPs (Jeremy Corbyn and Emily Thornberry) and in the wider advice community and fight for our clients for positive
change.

Once again, my thanks go to my fellow trustees for their hard work, dedication, insight and scrutiny; to Islington Council for their continued support and their desire
to understand the problems we are dealing with; to our many funders who make the work we do possible and, of course, to our volunteers and staff team who make it all
a reality by delivering the help to the people of Islington.

Matt Brown

Download a copy of our IPR Annual Review 2017 (PDF)

Chair’s Report

Welcome to IPR’s Annual Review. As Chair, I’m delighted to report a year of very solid progress in achieving our aims. These include providing essential, specialist advice to well over 2,500 people in acute need. We target our service towards those groups and individuals too often left behind in today’s Britain. Over 75% of our clients are disabled and a high proportion live with poor mental health. We are a multi-channel service and provided advice via our telephone service to over 6,000 individuals in the last year.

As in previous years, we have seen demand for our services continue to increase. This is the result of the deepening of the Government’s austerity programme which continues to squeeze welfare benefits, particularly for people with disabilities. The sheer weight of welfare reforms (including the long awaited introduction of Universal Credit) and rising interest rates threatening to tip more people into unmanageable debt also continues to present challenges to our dedicated and skilled advice teams. IPR is widely and deservedly recognised for its quality and expertise and this has translated into receiving more referrals from other agencies. This is flattering but the specialist work is involved and it takes time to grind through the welfare system; as an organisation we continue to be ever-vigilant about how we use our scarce resources so we maximise our effect on the often marginalised Islington residents whom we serve.

IPR funding from Islington Council has been confirmed until March 2020 which is a tremendous boost to our core advice service. Islington Council must be commended for investing in its advice services at a time when other London Boroughs are cutting theirs. We have continuation funding from Trust for London for the Access+ project working with local BAMER communities. The grant from the Big Lottery Local Sustainability Fund allowed us to put extra resources into fundraising and building partnerships with law firms and others to maximise our reach. We recently secured funding from new sources, notably the NatWest Skills and Opportunities Fund, and Henry Smith Charity.

I am very proud to be Chair of IPR but it would an empty position without our wonderful staff and volunteers who together make such a positive impact every day on the lives of our clients. I would like to thank my predecessor as Chair, Tim Aldridge. I would also like to express appreciation for the time committed by fellow Trustees as well as the resources of time and money given by our supporters that make everything possible. Our services are needed more than ever and with your continued support, we can look forward to another successful year!

Matt Brown

Download a copy of our IPR Annual Review 2016 (PDF)

Chair’s Report

IPR has built on its strengths over the last year. We have supported more people, achieved improved outcomes and consolidated our funding. These achievements have come about through the commitment of a great team of staff and my fellow trustees. Over the year we assisted over 2,500 clients; around 70% identified as being disabled, many with mental health issues.

The last 12 months have marked a period of consolidation for IPR, and we now have our grant funding from Islington Council confirmed until March 2020, which enables us to plan for the future. We have secured 2 year continuation funding from Trust for London to October 2018 for the Access + project, working with BAMER community communities. We have also been able to secure funding from a number of other charitable trusts for both our Disability Focus project, and work with carers. Funding from the Big Lottery Local Sustainability Fund has enabled us to devote additional resources towards ensuring our sustainability. At the same time we have continued to provide a high quality service across a number of community venues with good outcomes and a high level of client satisfaction. Clearly our aims for the forthcoming year are to maintain and improve the quality of our activities.

Demand for our services continues to grow, related to both ongoing welfare reforms and the current economic climate. Many of our beneficiaries have been adversely affected by recent changes in the welfare system. The new Benefit Cap means several hundred Islington residents are facing difficulties. Universal Credit is being introduced, replacing many benefits for those of working age, and presenting challenges.

Having become a trustee of IPR in 2011 and the Chair for the last two years, I am now standing down as Chair. The role has been hugely fulfilling, and it has been great to see the organisation develop from strength to strength, despite the challenging funding environment. This has been due to our dedicated staff, trustees, volunteers, funders and supporters, and I feel confident for IPR’s future and feel that we can look positively to 2017 and beyond.

Tim Aldridge

 

Download a copy of our IPR Annual Review 2015 (PDF)

Chair’s Report

IPR has built on its strengths over the last year. We have supported more people, achieved improved outcomes and diversified our funding. These achievements did not come about by accident but through the commitment of a great team of staff and my fellow trustees.

Over the year we assisted well over 2,500 clients. Around 70% identified as being disabled, many with mental health issues.

The last 12 months have marked a period of consolidation for IPR. We have responded to funding reductions by developing new funding streams for our advice work, essential with further reductions possible. At the same time we have continued to provide a high quality service across a number of community venues with good outcomes and a high level of client satisfaction.

Our aims for the forthcoming year are to maintain and improve the quality of our activities. Thanks to a major grant from the Trust for London we have commenced delivery of advice services and capacity building to Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic and Refugee organisations in the borough. This will enable IPR to support these groups and their clients more effectively.

I must of course thank all our funders without whom we would be unable to deliver the vital services that we provide; most evidently Islington Council. In addition, I would like to acknowledge the support of Nabarro LLP who have provided continued pro bono help to our clients as well as supporting IPR in other ways.

The demand for our services continues to grow, particularly in the current economic climate. Many of our beneficiaries have been affected by recent changes in the welfare system, notably in relation to disability benefits. Universal Credit is now being introduced, which will replace many benefits for those of working age. The excellent staff, trustees, volunteers and supporters of our work means that we look forward positively to 2016 and beyond.

Tim Aldridge

Download a copy of our IPR Annual Review 2014 (PDF)

Chair’s Report

IPR has had another successful year providing independent specialist advice and casework in relation to welfare benefits and debt. In 2013-2014 we assisted over disadvantaged 2,500 clients, in and around Islington. Around 70% were disabled, many with mental health issues. We provided support and representation on key welfare benefits matters, notably related to Disability Living Allowance (DLA), and Employment Support Allowance (ESA), and were involved in over 100 tribunal appeals. Many of our clients are affected by welfare reform, and struggling with new policies such as conditionality and sanctions. Our caseworkers have kept up with the fast pace of change and continued to offer an excellent quality of service; overall IPR’s success rate at tribunals was over 90%, and over 95% of clients confirmed their satisfaction with the IPR service, and that they would recommend us. By maximising the incomes of our clients we were able to bring over £1.2 million into Islington in 2013.

IPR has finished the year in a healthy financial position, having successfully secured some new sources of funding. These include a substantial grant from Trust for London, with which we are now launching Access+ to strengthen welfare benefits and debt advice services for BME and refugee community organisations in Islington. Late in 2013, we began the three-year Advance project that assists ex-offenders with drug and alcohol issues, in relation to welfare rights and debt issues, funded by City Bridge Trust. We continue to deliver specialist debt advice services at Holloway Prison, and at Pentonville Prison, the former funded by Working Links, the latter by the prison service. Despite this diversification, Islington Council remains our largest funder, providing our core grant and funding the contract specifically for our outreach services at community mental health venues. We have very much appreciated the Council’s understanding of the importance of independent advice services, and its continued financial support for IPR. Our current grant runs until April 2015, and we know that the local authority faces many future financial challenges of its own. Nevertheless, we hope the Council will continue to provide significant core grant funding to IPR.

We work closely with our partners in Islington Advice Alliance, Islington Law Centre and Islington CAB, which ensures Islington residents can access all areas of advice. Currently funding from the Big Lottery’s Advice Services Transition Fund, is enabling much collaborative work under the banner of “Advising Islington Together”. I very much enjoyed chairing the launch event for this new initiative back in February, which brought together over 120 people from a diverse range of charities and community groups across Islington, to share knowledge and ensure all Islington residents can access high-quality advice services.

Having been on IPR’s Management Committee since 2010 and Chair for the last two years, I am now standing down, making this my last Chair’s Report. My involvement with IPR has been hugely fulfilling. I have learnt a lot and it has been great to see the organisation go from strength to strength, despite the challenging funding environment. This has all been due to our dedicated staff, Management Committee members, volunteers, funders and supporters. In particular I would like to thank Gerard Omasta-Milsom for his committed leadership and support throughout my time with IPR. We have a strong team of both staff and Management Committee members, so I feel confident that IPR is in safe hands. With further welfare reforms on the horizon, which will affect some of Islington’s most vulnerable residents, I’m sure our services will be needed more than ever.
LINDSAY OWEN