Islington’s Labour-run Council has announced a £1million hardship fund as part of Budget proposals to help local people through the Tory cost of living crisis.

Many local people are beginning the New Year, paying higher prices for basics like food and energy bills than they were the year before, with inflation the highest in a generation and interest rates likely to remain high for the rest of the year, too.

Despite being forced to make more than £300 million of budget savings since 2010 due to Tory austerity, the Council’s new hardship fund will provide financial support to those with a household income that only just lifts them out of highest benefit entitlement but isn’t enough to make ends meet. This is on top of the council’s substantial existing safety net, which the Council is also protecting. The support on offer will shield the borough’s most vulnerable households from the worst effects of the cost of living crisis.

The budget proposals protect all other financial support provided to struggling households over the last year, including – the Resident Support Scheme which remains one of the most wide-ranging and generous in the UK, free meals and activities for eligible children in the school holidays, and the income maximisation (IMAX) service that so far this year has put more than £4 million into the pockets of residents who weren’t accessing the benefits they were entitled to.

In addition, Islington’s Labour-run council continues to invest in frontline services our residents and businesses rely on, and in the council’s key priorities for a more equal borough. This includes protection of free school meals for every primary school pupil, keeping our libraries and adventure playgrounds open, maintaining regular recycling and rubbish collections and a regular street sweeping programme.

Despite unprecedented cost pressures, inflation levels not seen for a generation, and a further real-terms funding cut from the Government, Islington Council will do all it can to ensure we deliver the best services, and that our most vulnerable residents and businesses are supported.

Since 2010, the Tories austerity agenda has forced Islington Council to make savings of almost £300 million. As a result, the Council has not received enough help to mitigate the effects of an 11% inflationary rise in the cost of goods and services this year alone.

Cllr Diarmaid Ward, the council’s Deputy Leader and Executive Member for Finance and Performance, said:

“This is a really difficult time for local people and for the local services they rely on, because of spiralling inflation and incredible pressure on household budgets that were already stretched, and the effects of years of Government underfunding for services.

 

“We’re totally committed to helping people through this however we can, but it’s important to be frank about the financial realities. This Tory Government has yet again passed the buck back to local authorities – all its calculations assume that councils will raise Council Tax by the maximum amount.

 

“We’ve been forced to adopt the increase to avoid having to make even deeper cuts to local services, and we’re proposing to ringfence £1 million to support the working families who are teetering on the brink. I’m talking about those who are doing their best, with a household income that only just lifts them out of most benefit entitlement and other financial support, but very soon simply won’t be enough to make ends meet. We will not stand by and allow this crisis to squeeze even more people into homelessness.

 

“In the face of incredible financial pressure, we’re doing everything in our power to make Islington a more equal place, and to prioritise frontline services that people rely on.”

The budget proposals will go to the council’s Executive on Thursday, 12 January, before being debated by Full Council on Thursday, 2 March, when the Council’s budget for 2023/24 will be set.

The budget proposals can be read in full here