The Corporate Resources and Economy Scrutiny Committee was scheduled to meet to discuss supporting Islington's residents to financial resilience, and to review the forward plan of key decisions. The committee was also expected to receive verbal updates from committee chairs, and to review their work plan and action sheet.

Supporting Financial Resilience

A key item for discussion was the scrutiny review of supporting Islington's residents to financial resilience. As part of this, the committee was scheduled to consider evidence on temporary accommodation and homelessness, and evidence on No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF).

Homelessness and Temporary Accommodation

The committee was scheduled to review data on homelessness and temporary accommodation from Quarter 1 of 2025. Key points from the data included:

• 592 homeless assessments were completed, which equates to 5.4 per 1,000 households. This was reported to be significantly lower than the 941 households from Quarter 1 of the previous year.
• 585 households (5.3 per 1,000) were owed a prevention or relief duty¹. This was also reported to be a significant decrease from the 893 households from Quarter 1 of the previous year.
• 1,835 households were in temporary accommodation, and that Islington's temporary accommodation rate (17 per 1,000 households) remains below London (20 per 1,000) and nearest neighbours.

The report stated that the main reason for households approaching the council was because friends or family were no longer willing or able to accommodate them. It was also noted that the percentage of homeless households due to domestic abuse in Quarter 1 2025/26 rose back to the peak level seen in Quarter 3 2024/25, reaching 16%.

The report also included information on Islington Council's approach to homelessness, stating that the council had prevented over 900 homeless households from becoming homeless over the last 12 months, placing Islington in the top 5% of councils' performance across England. It was noted that:

There are no Private Rented Properties available at the Governments Local Housing Allowance rates in Islington Poverty is the main driving force for homelessness as can be seen from the slides above and it is not possible to tackle the underlying issues which lead to homelessness without changes in the national Government policy framework.

Proposed improvements that were scheduled to be discussed included ensuring that Local Housing Allowance rates reflect the local markets, enabling Islington Council to purchase ex-Right to Buy properties to provide temporary accommodation locally, and increasing homeless funding from central Government to Islington Council to help prevent homelessness.

No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF)

The committee was also scheduled to discuss a report on financial resilience for residents impacted by NRPF. The report set out what the council is doing to support that cohort, covering immigration permissions and causes of destitution, the social care 'safety net' and Islington's response, and the Borough of Sanctuary initiative and the Islington Welcomes strategy².

The report stated that a person's immigration status determines whether they can work in the UK, the conditions of any employment, and whether they can access public funds (benefits and housing). It was noted that not having the right to access basic welfare support or employment is a contributing factor to poverty, homelessness, forced dependency and exploitation experienced by residents and creates barriers to achieving financial resilience.

The report stated that when a parent or adult cannot access benefits and housing assistance due to having no recourse to public funds, the council may have a duty to provide accommodation and financial support if their child is assessed as being in need by social services, or if the adult is assessed as having care and support needs by social services. It was noted that every year, the NRPF Team provides financial support to approximately 70 households, spending approximately £1.2 million on accommodation and subsistence with no central government reimbursement.

The report also provided data for adult supported households, including that the average time on support was 845 days, with 15 households supported for over 1000 days, and that 22% of all supported adult cases were people seeking asylum. Additional data for family households showed that the average time on support for families was 421 days, with 5 households supported for over 1000 days, and that 37% of supported families have no immigration permission and 37% of families have permission to be in the UK but with the NRPF condition imposed.

The report stated that trends in Islington indicate that referral rates and demand for social care support is increasing, in part due to the number of referrals for people seeking asylum, and because of the number of residents who are lawfully present but have the NRPF condition imposed.

The report also highlighted the work of the NRPF Network³, which Islington Council hosts. The NRPF Network provides UK-wide resources to ensure this area of work is properly explained and understood, and that information is available to avoid homelessness and destitution, and to support economic wellbeing through understanding of rights and entitlements.

The report concluded by stating that Islington is shaped by the communities that make Islington their home, who come to the borough and make significant contributions economically, socially and culturally.

Forward Plan of Key Decisions

The committee was scheduled to review the Forward Plan of Key Decisions, which lists key decisions to be taken by the Executive and Corporate Directors within the next 28 days, and potential key decisions beyond that period.

Some of the key decisions listed in the forward plan included:

• Music Education Islington Grants 2025-26
• Affordable Workspace Procurement at 23 Goswell Road, Regents Quarter, Mount Pleasant, and 250 City Road.
• Extension of communal heating maintenance and repair contract.
• Contract award for resident carpet and flooring scheme.
• Approval of TfL Year 2 (2026/27) Local Implementation Plan Programme.
• Blue badge traffic filter exemption trial.
• CIL allocations[^5].
• Procurement strategy for specialist adaptations including installations and repairs for residents with vulnerabilities and disabilities.
• Procurement strategy for electrical testing, servicing and associated remedial works.
• Progress report on the scrutiny review of the Active Travel Programme.
• Discretionary Property Licensing.
• Procurement Strategy for the supply of materials and associated equipment for cleaning and caretaking services.
• Contract award for the supply of temporary agency workers April 2026-March 2029.
• Islington Together Change Approach.
• Response of the Executive to Health and Care Scrutiny Committee - Health Inequalities and Covid-19.
• Response to the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee - Attendance Review.
• Heat Networks - Advanced Zoning Programme.
• Islington's Youth Safety Strategy 2025 - 2030.
• Budget monitoring 2025/2026 - Q2.
• Quarterly Capital Budget Monitoring Report, Quarter 2 2025/26 - including adjustments to the capital programme and capital asset decisions.
• Autumn Medium Term Financial Strategy update.
• General Fund fees and charges 2026/27.
• Gypsy and Traveller Local Plan Review.
• Response to report of Health, Wellbeing and Adult Social Care Scrutiny - Adult Social Care accommodation.
• A Cleaner Islington Strategy: Pathway to Cleanest, Greenest and Healthiest Neighbourhoods.
• Future Public Lighting Service.
• Award Report for the Young People's Supported Accommodation Pathway - 16-25 years.
• Islington Rough Sleeping Drug and Alcohol Treatment Service procurement and contract award.
• Corporate performance monitoring Q2.
• Draft budget - post settlement.
• Final budget.
• Islington Community School Admission Arrangements 2027-28.
• Voluntary, Community and Faith Sector Strategy.
• Procurement strategy for supported housing and floating support framework.
• Care and Support Services at Hanley Gardens and Beaumont Rise (long term).
• Procurement strategy for Holloway extra care.
• Budget monitoring 2025/2026 - Q3.
• Quarterly Capital Budget Monitoring Report, Quarter 3 2025/26 - including adjustments to the capital programme and capital asset decisions.
• Corporate performance monitoring Q3.
• Procurement Strategy / Contract Award for procurement of 7Kw Electric Vehicle Infrastructure.
• Budget monitoring 2025/2026 - Q4.
• Quarterly Capital Budget Monitoring Report, Quarter 4 2025/26 - including adjustments to the capital programme and capital asset decisions.
• Corporate performance monitoring Q4.
• Step Up to Social Work Cohort 10 Onwards.

Other Business

The committee was also scheduled to review the Scrutiny Review Tracker, which provides an overview of scrutiny reviews in progress. The Work Plan and Action Sheet for the Corporate Resources and Economy Scrutiny Committee were also scheduled for review.