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August 2025 newsletter
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Welcome to the August edition of the Inclusion Barnet member newsletter!
It's full of info on consultations, services, community events, access tips and ways to be heard. You'll also find some of the top local and national news affecting Disabled people including those with mental health issues and long-term conditions.
To find out more about each article, just click on its title.
Inclusion Barnet news
This month we’ve been continuing to share your feedback and concerns to a wide range of decision makers locally and nationally.
Our CEO, Caroline Collier, has been attending one of the newly established Collaboration Committees set up by the DWP (Department for Work and Pensions), the “Pathways to Work Committee” to help shape the recommendations that go to Ministers.
We also received a reply from Sir Stephen Timms to the Campaign letter that we hand delivered to 10 Downing Street in June. And we continue to input into the Mayfield Employment Review, which is all about how the Government can make the job market more accessible for Disabled people. We also continue to engage with the DWP over the roll-out of Universal Credit, to try to ensure that any problems are spotted and fixed.
Locally I attended the Church End, West Finchley & Woodhouse branch of the Labour Party member meeting to share about our work. I was also able to feedback on the enormous concern the Government proposals for disability benefit cuts caused, and continue to cause, to Disabled people in Barnet. (The threat to PIP was dropped, at least for now, but cuts to Universal Credit, for new claims after April 2026, remain in the pipeline).
Elsewhere in IB, the Grange Big Local is planning its closing celebration, our Healthy Heart Team published their annual report and, with your support, our Inclusion Unlimited team ran successful focus groups representing input and ideas from local Disabled people on applying for social housing and on urban development in Burnt Oak. Read more about these activities and more in this issue.
Thank you everyone for your ongoing support.
Claire Fisher
Head of Communications and Engagement
Response to our letter to the Prime Minister
We’ve received a formal response to our open letter to the Prime Minister, opposing disability benefit cuts, from Disability Minister Sir Stephen Timms. Unsurprisingly, it doesn’t tell us anything new, and it remains unclear on several points, particularly around the detail of what exactly the Government means by “co-production” of the PIP (Personal Independent Payment) review with Disabled people.
Head over to our Campaign website for more information on this story and don’t forget to sign up to support us!
Grange Big Local closing celebration
Our fantastic Grange Big Local team are holding a closing community festival to celebrate the end of their 10 year resident led community project in East Finchley.
Please come along to celebrate with us! FREE music, food and soft drinks, performances and activities for all ages.
Venue:
Tarling Road Community Centre, N2 8LG
Date: Saturday 6 September 2025, 12-4pm
For questions and accessibility requirements:
Call: 07902900639
Email: info@grangebiglocal.org
In other news, we are currently making good progress on our community-led Underpass improvement plans.
Your feedback making a difference
Thanks to everyone who got involved in the two focus groups run by our Inclusion Unlimited team in July and August. Applying for social housing in London and urban development plans in Burnt Oak are both topics that impact Disabled people in Barnet, so we were delighted that so many of you responded. We promise to update you on the progress of this research as soon as there’s news to report. Do look out for future opportunities to get involved and have your say.
Healthy Heart goes above and beyond
We often refer to our Healthy Heart team as amazing. But don’t just take our word for it. Do take a look at their newly published annual report to see just how fantastic their work really is. Read how our small team of three passionate individuals have managed to help almost 700 people from African, Caribbean or South Asian communities in Barnet who could be at risk from high blood pressure, hypertension or cardiovascular disease.
Recent and upcoming events include drop-ins at Golders Green, Hendon and Edgware libraries and attendance of Health Expo at SDA Church with 7th Adventist Church Group.
Touchpoint
Our Benefit Advice Service remains closed to all new referrals and enquiries until further notice. We recommend contacting alternative advice services, such as Barnet Citizens Advice Bureau or Boost, during this period. Updates on our reopening shall be on our social media and website. Touchpoint Peer Support is open as usual.
Lizzie C, Grange Big Local Comms and Admin Officer, has left GBL and has taken a job near to where she lives in Brighton. We will miss her and wish her all the best in her future career.
Opportunities to create change
Visit our consultations and campaigns page on the Inclusion Barnet website for all the latest opportunities to have your say on local and national issues that impact Disabled people in Barnet.
Did you know? Some local consultations receive as few as 14 online responses*. With just 15 members like you we can sway decisions on accessibility, support, and resources in Barnet.
Here's some of the top opportunities to get involved in this month:
Barnet Council 20mph Zone Policy consultation
Barnet Council's draft 20mph Zone Policy seeks to set out the process for taking forward 20mph Zones from both a community-led and council-led approach. They wish to involve residents in helping develop their new Policy.
Disabled people have particular important needs to ensure safety on our roads. Let's make sure the views and interests of Disabled people in Barnet are taken on board in the Policy.
Read their draft policy summary and complete the questionnaire
Closes 21 August 2025
Justice for Disabled victims of hate crimes, petition from Inclusion London
Disabled people aren't fully protected by UK hate crime laws
The law should clearly say: Disabled people are protected from hate crime, and those who target them will face proper punishment.
Make all hate crimes, including those based on disability, sexuality, and gender identity, aggravated offences with tougher sentences.
We especially need protection for Disabled people who are marginalised in other ways, e.g. because of their race or gender, who face even greater injustice.
More ways to get involved
- Find all of Barnet Council's consultations on the Engage Barnet website.
- Visit our consultations and campaigns page on the Inclusion Barnet website.
*For example: Barnet Council's proposed Fees and Charges 2024-25 for services, which got 14 online responses.
Local and London news and events
Community equipment in Barnet
You may have seen in the media that NRS Healthcare, who provide community equipment across Barnet, has recently gone into liquidation. The equipment NRS has been providing includes mobility aids, bath lifts, grab rails, respiratory equipment, and raised furniture. North Central London Integrated Care Board are reassuring residents that they are working with Barnet Council and the Trust to ensure disruption is kept to a minimum, and to make sure residents with equipment needs continue to receive high-quality care.
Community Focus Inclusive Arts run creative and wellbeing courses and workshops for Disabled adults and children, based in their premises in Friary Park. Classes include ceramics, nature arts and creative writing. Why not start something new this September?
Tel: 020 3743 2326
Email: admin@communityfocus.co.uk
Classes and venue fully accessible.
Barnet mobile library service
The Barnet mobile library service has closed. Customers can continue to use their library card at any other Barnet library and to use the Digital Library for eBooks, eAudiobooks, digital newspapers, magazines, music streaming and more.
People with mobility or health conditions who are unable to travel to a library may be eligible for the Home Library Service. Contact home.libraryservice@barnet.gov.uk or call 020 8359 3901 for more details.
Finger Talk from the Wellcome Collection
'Finger Talk' is a new British Sign Language (BSL) artwork by Cathy Mager that invites visitors to step out of a hearing-centred world and into a space shaped by Deaf people's perspectives.
Bringing together archival films, contemporary performance, animation and sound, this free installation foregrounds BSL as a living, evolving language with a rich cultural history.
Open until 17 October, London NW1 2BE
Online and national resources
If you are Disabled and need information and advice on travel, Transport for All may be able to help. Their mission is to break down barriers and transform the transport system, so that all Disabled people can make journeys with freedom, dignity, ease, and confidence. Examples of areas they can help with include:-
- Journey planning
- Signposting to expert organisations
- Support with concessionary travel applications
- Making appeals if an application is turned down
- Making a complaint about problems you are facing while travelling (such as being refused access to a bus, or no support at a railway station)
- Advice about your rights when travelling
- Escalating customer service complaints and obtaining compensation
To get help with any of these: Freephone: 0800 368 6102 (then press 1) Email: contactus@transportforall.org.uk Open: 10am-5pm
Monday, Tuesday and Friday
Access All: Disability News and Mental Health (podcast from the BBC)
Weekly podcast about mental health, wellbeing and Disabled people.
The Government have launched a new app to make it easier to use and find information on public services – e.g. bin collection dates, renew driving licence, passport application. Do let us know how you find the accessibility of this app.
National news - local impact
Access Tips
Warning: This section includes mentions of suicide.
Thinking of going away or for a day out? Tourism for All have a search engine where you can specify access requirements for your leisure activity, to help match you with the right facilities.
Theatresign - BSL theatre perfomances
Theatresign has information about upcoming BSL theatre performances in London.
Suicide Prevention Stay Alive App
The Stay Alive app is a pocket suicide prevention resource, with information for those at risk of suicide and people worried about someone. It includes: strategies for staying safe, how to help a person thinking about suicide, and access to Barnet services and support.
Support with technology from Jewish Care
Jewish Care Explore offers support with technology to all adults within the Jewish community. Learn more about Jewish Care Explore's technology support.
Register for 999 text services
999 offers a text reporting service for members of the public who may be unable to call in an emergency. Text 'register' to 999, and then confirm 'yes' when you receive a response. Once this is complete, you will be able to text 999 in an emergency situation and the police will respond.
Be an inclusion champion
Sharing your story as a Disabled person
One of the most powerful ways you can champion inclusive practices is to share your own story of barriers you have faced. This can provide peer support to others and be a catalyst for change. We invite you to get in touch in whatever way works best for you.
Join us
Share YOUR lived experience:
become a member of Inclusion Barnet
Individual membership is FREE and is for Disabled people, which may include long term conditions or mental health issues, and/or carers. Find out how being a member and sharing your lived experience can lead to positive change on our website.
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About Us
Inclusion Barnet is a Deaf and Disabled People’s Organisation (DDPO), based in Barnet, North-West London. This means that all of our Trustees and most of our staff have lived experience of disability. Learning to use lived experience for social change is a skill. We use this understanding to design and deliver higher quality, more person-centred services.
Support our national campaign:
Every sign up counts
We're calling on the Government to work with organisations led by Disabled people to make workplaces easier to access and to improve social security so that everyone can live a decent life, whether they’re in work or not.
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Did you know we run libraries, Barnet Voice for Mental Health, community organisation support, and more? Find all our services and other newsletters you can subscribe to, below.
