Windrush Day this year marks the 74^th anniversary of the Windrush migration. It honours the exceptional contribution of the Windrush generation, their families and descendants, and remembers the arrival of the MV Empire Windrush at the Port of Tilbury, near London, on 22 June 1948.

On Wednesday, 22 June the Windrush Day flag – reading ‘Windrush generations – we are standing on their shoulders’ – will be raised above Islington Town Hall.

Television presenter, Jay Blades MBE, will join local MP Emily Thornberry and other community leaders for an event at Brickworks Community Centre at 12-2pm on Wednesday, 22 June. Residents are encouraged to book a free ticket for an afternoon of speeches, Caribbean food, music, performances and stories from Islington elders who arrived in the UK during the Windrush Era.

Age UK Islington are also organising a celebration on Windrush Day in Caledonian Park. At 11am, they will host a special Windrush edition of their weekly reminiscence sessions at Cally Clock Tower Centre, to which residents can bring photos and memorabilia to share memories and experiences with other attendees. At 12-2pm, the event will move outside for Caribbean refreshments (with food and soft drinks provided). To book for these events, residents can contact Age UK Islington on 020 7281 6018 or gethelp@ageukislington.org.uk

The event in Caledonian Park is part of a project funded with a grant of almost £15,000, following a successful bid by Islington Council to the Government’s 2022 Windrush Day Grant Scheme.

Islington Libraries have made titles from Caribbean book list ‘The 100 Caribbean books that made us’ available to loan. The list was put together by The Bocas Lit Fest, a literary arts development organisation based in Trinidad and Tobago. Libraries will also host reading sessions for under-fives to explore Windrush story Coming to England by Floella Benjamin and there will be a small display at Central Library celebrating acclaimed Islington writer Andrea Levy, who was born in London to Jamaican parents.

Windrush Day this year marks the 74^th anniversary of the Windrush migration. It honours the exceptional contribution of the Windrush generation, their families and descendants, and remembers the arrival of the MV Empire Windrush at the Port of Tilbury, near London, on 22 June 1948.

On Wednesday, 22 June the Windrush Day flag – reading ‘Windrush generations – we are standing on their shoulders’ – will be raised above Islington Town Hall.

Television presenter, Jay Blades MBE, will join local MP Emily Thornberry and other community leaders for an event at Brickworks Community Centre at 12-2pm on Wednesday, 22 June. Residents are encouraged to book a free ticket for an afternoon of speeches, Caribbean food, music, performances and stories from Islington elders who arrived in the UK during the Windrush Era.

Age UK Islington are also organising a celebration on Windrush Day in Caledonian Park. At 11am, they will host a special Windrush edition of their weekly reminiscence sessions at Cally Clock Tower Centre, to which residents can bring photos and memorabilia to share memories and experiences with other attendees. At 12-2pm, the event will move outside for Caribbean refreshments (with food and soft drinks provided). To book for these events, residents can contact Age UK Islington on 020 7281 6018 or gethelp@ageukislington.org.uk

The event in Caledonian Park is part of a project funded with a grant of almost £15,000, following a successful bid by Islington Council to the Government’s 2022 Windrush Day Grant Scheme.

Islington Libraries have made titles from Caribbean book list ‘The 100 Caribbean books that made us’ available to loan. The list was put together by The Bocas Lit Fest, a literary arts development organisation based in Trinidad and Tobago. Libraries will also host reading sessions for under-fives to explore Windrush story Coming to England by Floella Benjamin and there will be a small display at Central Library celebrating acclaimed Islington writer Andrea Levy, who was born in London to Jamaican parents.

To mark Clean Air Day, and as part of the Council’s work to build an even more environmentally friendly borough, five more School Street schemes are now set to be made permanent.

Islington’s pioneering School Streets are helping to improve air quality and make the school gate safer and healthier for children, carers and school staff. By preventing most motor vehicle traffic from travelling down streets around schools at drop-off and pick-up times, School Streets improve air quality and road safety, making Islington a better place for young people to grow up and get around.

Islington currently has 35 School Streets, covering 36 schools – including the five schemes that were initially introduced as trials in January 2021 and are now being made permanent following positive feedback and monitoring data.

To ensure that children at schools on main roads are also able to enjoy a cleaner, greener, healthier school gate, the council is today also able to confirm the completion of works to improve safety and the environment outside Ambler Primary School and Canonbury Primary School.

As the main roads outside both schools are key to the local transport system, they cannot be temporarily closed off to traffic in the way that School Streets can – but a series of new measures will help to reduce air pollution and screen children at the school gate from traffic. These include pavement widening on Blackstock Road and Canonbury Road, double yellow lines to prevent parking outside both schools, new planting, and footway repaving outside Canonbury Primary School.

The council is also working with Global Action Plan and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) on a pioneering project that is helping to educate health professionals at 15 Islington surgeries about the health risks associated with air pollution.

Through the scheme – known as the Islington Primary Care for Clean Air Project – healthcare professionals are learning about how they can encourage patients to adopt habits that reduce their exposure and contribution to air pollution.

Cllr Rowena Champion, Islington Council’s Executive Member for Environment, Air Quality, and Transport, said: “I’m so pleased to celebrate Clean Air Day in Islington with this ambitious package of new measures – cutting air pollution at the school gate, and working with healthcare professionals to tackle the causes of air pollution that blights so many lives.

“Doing nothing is not an option – air pollution stunts children’s lungs and causes thousands of excess deaths in London every year. By rolling out School Streets across the borough and introducing similar measures for schools on main roads, we can bring cleaner air to the school gate and secure a healthier future for local schoolchildren.

“We all have a part to play, and this Clean Air Day we’re inviting people across the borough to continue to do their bit to help reduce air pollution and tackle the climate emergency – whether that’s taking more trips by foot or bike, recycling and reusing more, or turning off appliances when not in use.”

Larissa Lockwood, Director of Clean Air at Global Action Plan, says: “We’re thrilled to be working collaboratively with Islington Council and the borough’s healthcare professionals to empower them to confidently share information on air pollution with their patients. As some of the most trusted messengers in society, health professionals, particularly GPs, play a crucial role in protecting people’s health – especially that of some of the most vulnerable people who come through the door of the health service every day.”

This financial year the council has quadrupled the bursary funding to £160,000 and revised the eligibility criteria, so even more parents and carers of young people can pay for childcare for up to eight weeks when they start work, a work placement or short-term training.

Childcare fees can top £1,000 per month and for many parents and carers of children, this is a significant barrier to them returning to work, starting education or training, or finding a job for the first time after having children.

There are currently more than 4,000 parents in Islington who are out of work and claiming benefits. The majority are single parents, and a considerable number are claiming Income Support, which requires them to look for work when their youngest child turns five.

Cllr Santiago Bell-Bradford, Executive Member for Inclusive Economy and Jobs, said: “Helping parents and carers with those first steps, so they can afford to access training and employment, is a vital part of giving them the power to pull themselves and their families out of poverty.

“Currently, around two-thirds of the children growing up in poverty in Islington live in households where no-one is employed – so it’s essential we find ways to tackle the barriers to work and training.

“In the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, childcare costs make it really difficult for many people to make ends meet while working or training, particularly those who are likely to take up entry-level jobs or zero-hours contracts. Our Enhanced Childcare Bursary Scheme provides genuine help for hundreds of households, and will make Islington a more equal place.”

More people than ever before will also be eligible to apply for a bursary under the new scheme, including parents in low-paid roles who want to undertake training to boost their chances of getting better-paid jobs, and those wanting to move from part-time to full-time work. It will also be available to entrepreneur parents or carers who are establishing their business.

The scheme is part of the council’s ongoing efforts to help people into training and rewarding employment. Since 2018, it has helped more than 1,300 parents with children aged under 18 into paid work.

As part of its ongoing support for the local economy and businesses affected by the pandemic, Islington Council is offering eligible Business Rates payers up to £10,000 per premises, for up to three premises.

The Covid-19 Additional Relief Fund money is only available to businesses that have not previously received Retail Relief payments.

The £17million scheme is open for applications now, with awards made on a first-come, first-served basis. The scheme will run until all the money is awarded or until July 15, whichever comes first. The awards will be paid to successful applicants by the end of the September.

Cllr Santiago Bell-Bradford, Executive Member for Inclusive Economy and Jobs, said: “More than two years into the pandemic, we remain absolutely committed to helping local businesses, protecting jobs and our local economy in every way we can.

“I’m very pleased that we are able to offer these grants to help small and medium-sized local businesses who have so far not been eligible for support under previous schemes.

“The funding pot means as many as 4,000 of these businesses in the borough could wipe out their Business Rates bill for the entire 2022/23 financial year. It will also significantly reduce the Business Rates bills for many others.

“So if you are an arts organisation, a head office, depot, creative agency or a solicitor, you might be eligible and should make an application as soon as possible, as the funding is limited. We don’t want you to miss out.”

Central Government has provided the grant funding in recognition of the impact of the pandemic on businesses which have been unable to claim relief under previous support schemes. Islington Council has designed and is administering the scheme.