The Overview and Scrutiny Committee of Islington Council met on Monday 2 March 2026 to review progress on the council's five key missions and to discuss the Forward Plan of Key Decisions. The committee also received an annual presentation from the Executive Member for Equalities, Communities and Inclusion.

Annual Review of the 5 Missions

The committee was scheduled to review the progress made in achieving Islington's five missions, as outlined in the Islington Together 2030 Plan and the Islington Together Delivery Plan 2024-2026. This review aimed to reflect on achievements, challenges, and areas of focus, as well as to note the development of a new Corporate Plan for 2026 to 2030.

The five missions are:

• Child-friendly Islington: To ensure all children and young people feel safe, can thrive, and are able to be part of and lead change within their community.
• Community wealth building: To foster a sustainable, inclusive, and locally rooted economy where wealth is fairly shared, and residents and businesses have a stake in their community.
• Empowering people: To ensure everyone in Islington who needs extra help can access the right support at the right time and in the right place.
• A safe place to call home: To ensure everyone in Islington has a safe, decent, and genuinely affordable place to call home.
• Greener, healthier Islington: To enable people in Islington to live healthy and independent lives and enjoy London's greenest, cleanest, and healthiest neighbourhoods.

The report detailed progress against each of these missions, highlighting successes and areas requiring further attention. For the Child-Friendly Islington mission, progress was noted as good, with four out of six delivery plan metrics on track. However, challenges remained in improving school attendance and embedding the framework for Lifelong Corporate Parenting.

The Community Wealth Building mission was reported as strong, with all six delivery plan actions rated green and all three performance metrics on track. Significant achievements included supporting thousands of residents into paid work and securing substantial additional benefits for low-income households.

Progress for the Empowering People mission was also described as good, with all four delivery plan actions rated green. However, four performance metrics were rated red, including call answer rates and resident satisfaction with the Access Islington Contact Centre.

The A Safe Place to Call Home mission showed excellent progress, with all six delivery plan actions rated green. The council had purchased a significant number of homes to address homelessness and was transforming shared spaces on estates through the Thriving Neighbourhoods programme.

For the Greener, Healthier Islington mission, progress was generally good. In the Greener aspect, one delivery plan action was rated amber and one red, with challenges in delivering Liveable Neighbourhoods and increasing recycling rates. In the Healthier aspect, five delivery plan actions were rated green and one amber, with challenges in becoming a recognised carer and age-friendly borough.

Forward Plan of Key Decisions

The committee was also scheduled to review the Forward Plan of Key Decisions, which outlines key decisions to be taken by the Executive and Corporate Directors within the next 28 days and potential key decisions beyond that period. This plan provides transparency on upcoming significant council business.

Scrutiny Review Tracker

The Scrutiny Review Tracker was to be presented, providing an overview of ongoing scrutiny reviews, their progress, and the status of responses to recommendations. This allows the committee to monitor the impact and follow-up of previous scrutiny work.

Work Plan and Action Sheet

Finally, the committee was to review its Work Plan and Action Sheet, ensuring that its activities align with the council's priorities and that actions from previous meetings are being progressed. This includes reviewing the CRESC (Corporate Resources and Economy Scrutiny Committee) Work Plan for 2025-26.