"… greater equality is the gateway to a society capable of improving the quality of life for all of us" - Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett, The Spirit Level, 2009
Purpose
Despite its wealthy image, Islington is the fourteenth most deprived local authority area in England, with extremes of rich and poor. The Islington Fairness Commission was set up in June 2010 to look into how to make the borough a fairer place.
The Commission was co-chaired by leading expert Professor Richard Wilkinson, and included senior figures from Islington Council, Islington Police, NHS, Homes for Islington, Islington Trades Council, Islington Chamber of Commerce, City and Islington College, Cripplegate Foundation, and London School of Economics.
The Commission met in public seven times to hear evidence from the community and debated issues such as health, housing, family, community, social care, education, skills and training, employment, crime and safety, democracy, sustainability, environment and economy.
Update
The Commission has produced an interim report and a final report. Both reports are available to download below.
Seven priority areas have been identified with key recommendations in each area to help make the borough a fairer place for all. The priority areas are as follows:
- Income
- Work
- Families
- Community
- Safety
- Housing
- Health
The final report was discussed at Full Council on 30th June 2011. It was agreed that detailed delivery plans would be developed and presented at the next meeting of Full Council in October.
The delivery plans are presented in the Council's Corporate Plan 2011-2015 and the Council's Response to the Fairness Commission, both available to download below. These were unanimously approved at Full Council on 6th October 2011. We are now working to implement these plans.
A full update on progress towards implementation will be tabled and discussed in public at the meeting of the Communities Review Committee at the Town Hall at 7.30pm on Thursday 8 March 2012: All are welcome to attend to hear how the Commission's recommendations are being put into practice.
If you wish to sign up for e-updates please click on the contact link below. To follow the Commission's progress on Twitter please use the link on the right of this page.
Quick links
Meeting Details
Find out more about the commission meetings.
Commissioner Details
Who are the commission members