Islington People's Rights

What Islington People's Rights does

Islington People's Rights (IPR) is a registered charity (no. 1077688) and company limited by guarantee (no. 1753440) founded in 1969, operating from Manor Gardens in the London Borough of Islington. It provides free, independent specialist advice on welfare benefits and debt to vulnerable residents, with the majority of clients disabled or affected by mental health conditions. Service delivery is human-led and community-embedded: an advice line operating three afternoons per week, face-to-face appointments at headquarters, and outreach sessions co-located at North London NHS Foundation Trust and Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust mental health teams, plus BAMER community venues such as the Islington Somali Community and Latin American Women's Rights Service.

The product surface is a portfolio of projects built on a single core service: Disability Focus (since 2013), IPR Justice (policy and tribunal representation since 2021), IPR KidsSupport (families with disabled children), IPR Care (carers), Access+ (BAMER outreach), IPR Clean Break (gambling harm, 2026), and the recently launched Beyond Debt and Warmth for All cost-of-living projects. The organisation holds no proprietary technology platform; infrastructure consists of Sage for accounting and Matomo for web analytics, and services are delivered without an app, API, or digital self-serve channel. Advisers progress clients from initial claim through to tribunal representation, achieving a 90%+ success rate and over £1m in annual client income uplift.

IPR is grant-funded rather than commercially priced; all client services are free. Revenue in FY2024/25 was £509,000 (down from £676,000), sourced from a London Borough of Islington core grant (committed to March 2028), Trust for London, Cloudesley, City Bridge Trust, the National Lottery Community Fund, NHS England, Thames Water Trust Fund, Henry Smith Charity, and donations processed through Wonderful. Approximately 8 permanent staff (mostly part-time) plus 2 locum caseworkers and 1 fixed-term support worker deliver over 9,000 annual enquiries and 2,500+ cases of direct help. Governance is by an 11-member Board of Trustees, chaired by David Moore, with Gerard Omasta-Milsom as Chief Executive.

Name

Islington People's Rights

Legal name

Islington People's Rights

Website

https://ipradvice.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1969

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Islington People's Rights is a registered charity founded in 1969 that provides free, independent specialist welfare benefits and debt advice to vulnerable Islington residents, primarily disabled people and those with mental health conditions, delivering over 2,500 cases annually through caseworkers, an advice line, and NHS and community outreach.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Core Grant Funding: Primary funding from London Borough of Islington providing core grant for welfare benefits and debt advice and casework services. Funding committed until March 2028.
2. Trust and Foundation Grants: Grants from charitable trusts including Trust for London, Cloudesley, City Bridge Trust, National Lottery Community Fund, Thames Water Trust Fund, Henry Smith Charity, and The Three Oaks Trust for specific projects.
3. NHS/Healthcare Commissioning: Contract to deliver services to users of mental health services from the North London NHS Foundation Trust and Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust.
4. Donations and Fundraising: Individual donations through events like London Legal Walk, with donations processed via Wonderful platform including Gift Aid.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Islington People's Rights (IPR) is an independent registered charity providing free specialist welfare benefits and debt advice to vulnerable Islington residents. Services cover welfare benefits claims and appeals (including ESA, DLA, PIP, Universal Credit), debt negotiation, utility debt advice, tribunal representation, and targeted programmes for disabled residents, people with mental health issues, carers, families with disabled children, ex-offenders, and BAMER communities.

Product overview

Islington People's Rights operates as a single unified advice service providing independent specialist welfare benefits and debt advice, not a software platform. The core offering is direct client services supplemented by several specialized projects: IPR Clean Break addresses gambling harm; IPR Justice provides tribunal representation and policy advocacy; IPR KidsSupport assists families with disabled children; IPR Care supports carers; Disability Focus helps disabled residents; and Access+ delivers services to BAMER communities. The organisation also runs outreach sessions at mental health services across Islington and delivers a financial education programme called Financial Skills for Life. The organisation's infrastructure includes Sage accounting software and Matomo analytics for website statistics.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• IPR Clean Break: Treatment service for people experiencing gambling harm and gambling-related debt, available for people living in Islington and Camden
• IPR Justice
• IPR KidsSupport
• IPR Care
• Disability Focus

Products and services

• Core Welfare Benefits and Debt Advice Service Free independent specialist welfare benefits and debt advice for Islington residents, covering claims, appeals, tribunal representation, debt negotiation, utility debt advice, and benefit entitlement checks.
• IPR Clean Break Treatment service for people experiencing gambling harm and gambling-related debt, offering debt advice, therapeutic counselling, group support, and peer support for Islington and Camden residents.
• IPR Justice Policy influence and tribunal representation project focused on disabled people and those with mental health issues, providing legal representation at welfare benefits tribunals and gathering evidence to influence government policy.
• IPR KidsSupport Dedicated service for Islington families with children with disabilities or long-term health conditions, assisting with DLA/PIP applications, appeals, Tax Credits, Universal Credit, and Carers Allowance.
• IPR Care Service assisting people caring for relatives with dementia and physical disabilities, providing welfare benefits and debt advice to carers.
• Disability Focus Project providing extra support to Islington disabled residents dealing with welfare benefit changes, helping with Employment Support Allowance, Disability Living Allowance, and Personal Independence Payment.
• Outreach Services Regular outreach sessions at mental health services across Islington, including North and South Rehabilitation and Recovery Teams and Islington Crisis Resolution Team.
• Financial Skills for Life Financial education programme helping vulnerable individuals increase money-management skills and financial awareness, linking to debt advice work.
• Access+ Project working with BAMER organisations providing specialist debt and welfare benefits advice through outreach sessions at BAMER venues, also training staff at these organisations.
• Islington Water Debt Advice Project Specialist debt advice and casework service for Islington residents with water debts and other utility debts, helping maximise income and develop sustainable repayment plans.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over £1 million annual enhancement of client incomes
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles7 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered key.

• North London NHS Foundation TrustkeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerContract to deliver services to users of mental health services. IPR provides outreach at their mental health venues across Islington.
• Islington Law CentrekeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey partner in Islington Advice Alliance, working together to ensure Islington residents can access all areas of advice. Joint partnership on Islington Direct project.
• Islington Citizens AdvicekeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey partner in Islington Advice Alliance, collaborating on joint partnership bids and ensuring comprehensive advice coverage for Islington residents.
• Islington Somali CommunitykeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerBAMER community partner for Access+ project, receiving specialist debt and welfare benefits advice delivered at their venue.
• Latin American Women's Rights Service (LAWRS)keyStrategic or Co-development PartnerBAMER community partner for Access+ project, receiving specialist advice and training for staff.
• Cranstoun Drug ServiceskeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for IPR Advance project, providing sessions for ex-offenders with drug and alcohol issues as part of resettlement support.
• Islington Carers HubkeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for IPR Care project, working with carers in the borough to provide specialist benefits and debt advice.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Broad incumbents

• National Debtline: Free national telephone and online debt advice service operated by the Money Advice Trust. Directly comparable client offering to IPR's debt casework, but delivered at national scale via remote channels.
• Money Advice Trust: UK charity that runs National Debtline and Business Debtline, and supports the money advice sector through training and quality standards. Adjacent to IPR's debt advice function at a national infrastructure level.
• Christians Against Poverty (CAP): National UK charity delivering free debt advice, money coaching and life skills through local centres, with comparable client demographics (low income, mental health, vulnerable). Operates at much greater scale than IPR across the UK.
• StepChange Debt Charity: National debt advice charity providing free, specialist debt advice via telephone and online channels. Overlaps with IPR's debt advice work at national scale rather than local casework intensity.

Direct peers

• Toynbee Hall: East London charity providing free advice services including welfare benefits, debt and casework support, plus financial education. Comparable model — grant-funded, specialist caseworkers, outreach to vulnerable communities — serving a different London borough.
• Zacchaeus 2000 Trust (Z2K): London-based charity offering specialist advice and casework on welfare benefits and debt, including tribunal representation. Directly comparable service mix and target population (disabled, mental health, low-income Londoners).
• Mary Ward Legal Centre: London-based charity delivering specialist welfare benefits, housing and debt legal advice, with tribunal representation. Comparable in mission and service mix (specialist caseworkers, free advice for vulnerable populations), though operating across multiple boroughs rather than a single borough.
• Islington Citizens Advice: Direct local peer providing free, independent advice (including welfare benefits and debt) to Islington residents. Co-member of the Islington Advice Alliance with IPR, often handling overlapping client needs and cross-referring.
• Islington Law Centre: Co-member of the Islington Advice Alliance alongside IPR, providing legal advice across welfare benefits, housing, immigration and debt. Operates the joint Islington Direct partnership with IPR, serving an overlapping Islington client base.

Others

• Advice UK: Membership body for independent advice charities in the UK, of which IPR is a member. Provides network support, training and sector representation rather than direct client services, making it an enabling peer.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/IPRadvice

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Islington People's Rights