FOUNDATION

Islington – Borough of Contrasts
“I am stuck in my studio flat with two kids; I don’t live in my flat, I exist. It’s making
me ill being there “
(woman with children – participant in Foundation’s research)
In Islington polarisation of incomes is marked.
In the Canonbury area of south Islington:
• The number of people with the lowest
incomes has risen from 31% in 1980 to
37.6% in 1990 and to 47.9% in 2000
• The number of people with the greatest
wealth has risen from 1.8% in 1980 to
4.1% in 2000
• The proportion of households classed as
not poor, not wealthy has more than
halved from 67.2% in 1980 to 23.4%
in 2000
There has been a startling growth in income
inequality over the past 20 years. Islington
has seen greater changes than almost
anywhere in the country.
From “Poverty in Islington” Research
Report for Cripplegate Foundation 2008
There are many sides to Islington.
It has some of the most expensive
housing in London and one of the
lowest levels of owner occupation.
It has high numbers of residents
who are educated to degree level
(40%) and similarly a high number
of people with no qualifications at
all (25%). In almost all indices of
deprivation Islington scores above
London and national averages. High
levels of homelessness and reliance
on benefits contrasts with above
average numbers of residents in the
higher professional and managerial
professions. Almost 6% of the
residents aged 16-74 have never
worked. It has more than double the
population density than London as
a whole and a growing population.
(Office for National Statistics –
Neighbourhood Statistics databases
2001-2008)
This is a borough where affluence
and poverty sit uneasily side by side.
Islington’s population has an above
average incidence of circulatory
disease and mental ill health.
Life expectancy is lower than that
for the UK as a whole.
Faced with these challenges our
task is to address poverty, improve
access to opportunities and promote
social cohesion.
Our aims are to:
• ensure that Cripplegate Foundation
is a model of good practice
through making effective grants
and evaluating the impact of its
programmes
• inform and influence policy
• increase our income so we can
serve the whole of Islington
Over the next 5 years we will:
• Develop our grant making
programmes in ways
which most effectively address
our aims. These will
address poverty, improve access
to opportunities and promote
social cohesion
• Be an agent for change
• Enable the Foundation to serve the
whole of Islington
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