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August 2026 newsletter
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Welcome to the August edition of the Inclusion Barnet member newsletter!
It's full of information on developments at Inclusion Barnet, online resources, community events, access tips and ways to be heard. You'll also find some of the top 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
Welcome to the August newsletter, we hope you’re surviving the summer heat. There’s advice on staying cool and Barnet’s cool down spaces on the council website.
Speaking of cool, there’s some great things happening in Barnet this month, with young people shaping GP surgeries, and guides by-and-for patients on speaking up about healthcare. You can put it all into practice to help newly formed NHS West and North London as they transform services in our area, or at our August User Voice meeting.
Beyond influencing Barnet, there’s also a range of exhibitions by Disabled people taking place in London this summer, with air conditioned, accessible spaces, to keep cool whilst we create a more equal world for every Disabled person.
Enjoy!
Cat Whitehouse, Campaign Manager
Campaign for Disability Justice update
The Campaign for Disability Justice has been representing Disabled people's views with decision makers and MPs this month, including giving expert evidence on how health and disability have changed in recent years, and meeting with ministers looking at work and Disabled young people. We also met with leaders of other organisations run by and for Disabled people in London, to talk about ways we can work together on important issues. Join the campaign to be part of national conversations shaping Disabled people’s lives.
There was plenty to talk about at July's User Voice meeting, from NHS service changes and PIP to carers' support and employment issues. Thanks to everyone who came along and shared their experiences and concerns.
We were joined by a guest speaker from the NHS, who answered questions about local healthcare changes and the challenges some members are facing when appointments are moved further from home.
Your experiences help us get answers, tackle barriers and influence improvements so local services work better for everyone.
Full summary of July User Voice meeting
Next meetings
- Wednesday 20 August 2026, 5–6pm
- Thursday 24 September 2026, 5–6pm
Book your place on the August meeting here, or email uservoice@inclusionbarnet.org.uk.
August agenda
- Updates on NHS Barnet changes
- Social care in Barnet
- A chance to raise local issues you'd like Inclusion Barnet to help with
- National issues, including the 10-year NHS Plan and political representation on health
Not a member of Inclusion Barnet? It's free and easy to join here.
Healthy Heart builds strong links with Barnet's Nepalese community
The Healthy Heart team received a warm welcome when they revisited the Nepalese community in July. 26 people came along, and 19 had their blood pressure checked. With plenty of time for discussion, the session became an enjoyable and interactive opportunity to revisit key Healthy Heart messages, with everyone joining in enthusiastically.
Staff provided excellent translation where needed, making sure everyone could take part, ask questions and share their experiences. Participants were pleased to receive the British Heart Foundation's booklet on high blood pressure, giving them useful information to read and share with family members.
Looking ahead, many people said they would like future sessions to focus on healthy eating, exploring simple ways to make traditional Nepalese meals even healthier.
The afternoon ended with one question being asked again and again: "When are you coming back?" Happily, the Healthy Heart team is planning to return in October, and everyone is looking forward to another informative and friendly session.
Gambling harms workshop a great success
A big thank you to everyone who attended, or expressed an interest in, our lived experience workshop on gambling harms which took place on 22 June.
The workshop, delivered by Inclusion Unlimited in partnership with Barnet Council, brought together people with lived experience to share how gambling and gambling harms are influenced by the local environments we live in. The workshop was a real success. We heard many valuable insights about people’s experiences, the factors that can contribute to gambling harms, and what support can make a positive difference. These conversations will help Barnet Council better understand the experiences of local residents and inform future work to prevent gambling harms across the borough.
It was also wonderful to hear such positive feedback from participants. One person told us: “Everyone made me and my experience feel valued. Thank you for caring!” Creating a safe, welcoming space where people feel listened to is at the heart of our work, so it was encouraging to hear this reflected in participants’ experiences.
We are now bringing together everything we heard into a report for Barnet Council. Thank you again to everyone who gave their time, shared their experiences, and helped shape this important piece of work.
New guide with youth-led ideas for better GP services
Ever wondered what makes a GP practice feel welcoming for young people? Inclusion Barnet's youth engagement and co-production expertise has produced guidance in Enfield, resulting from the formation of Enfield Young Health Advocates (EYHAs). Our new guide encourages GP teams to listen carefully to young patients, communicate in a friendly and respectful way, and involve young people in shaping services.
The guide also includes practical suggestions, such as making waiting areas more welcoming, providing clearer information about services, improving access to translation, building stronger links with schools and communities, and creating Youth Patient Participation Groups so young people have a genuine voice in decisions.
Although the guidance was developed for Enfield, many of its recommendations are equally relevant to GP practices and healthcare organisations in Barnet and elsewhere.
We passionately believe in co-production here at Inclusion Barnet. Let's make sure service users are always at the heart of decisions about health and social care delivery, wherever they are.
Future of Patient Voice – from Healthwatch Enfield
Have you ever wanted to tell the NHS about your experience of using a GP, hospital or other health service, but weren't sure where to start? A new free guide from Healthwatch Enfield could help.
Future of Patient Voice: A Guide to Making Your Voice Count has been produced to help residents understand the different ways they can share their views and influence local health and social care services. It explains everything from joining a GP Patient Participation Group to completing NHS feedback surveys, becoming a volunteer, or raising concerns through the complaints process. The guide also includes information about where to find support if you need help making a complaint or getting your voice heard.
Although the guide is written with Enfield residents in mind, much of the advice is equally relevant to people living in Barnet and elsewhere. Let's improve services for Disabled people everywhere by voicing our health and social care needs.
Touchpoint Benefits Advice referrals paused
Due to unusually high demand, we have temporarily paused new Touchpoint Benefits Advice referrals and enquiries until further notice. Touchpoint Peer Support remains open as usual.
No starters or leavers this month.
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.
Your words can shape what happens in Barnet. It’s surprising, but some local consultations get as few as 14 responses*. Low numbers like these mean every voice counts
*For example: Barnet Council's proposed Fees and Charges 2024-25 for services, which got 14 online responses.
Here are opportunities to get involved in this month:
Carer's Allowance: call for evidence from Department for Work and Pensions
Give your views on how Carer’s Allowance could be modernised to make it fit for purpose for all. Let’s make sure Disabled people’s needs are met, whether a carer or for those cared for.
Closes 18 August 2026
Petition: support for Renu Arora's Access to Work campaign
Access to Work enables Disabled people to thrive at work, yet award-winning actor, singer, writer and composer Renu Arora has had her support cut by 80%, threatening her career and exposing wider failings in the scheme. Sign the petition to demand fair, needs-based support and protect Disabled people’s right to work.
Consultation on a new selective licensing scheme for privately rented homes in Barnet
Barnet Council is inviting residents, landlords and stakeholders to share their views on proposals to help improve privately rented accommodation in Barnet through the introduction of a new property licensing scheme. Crucial that the needs of Disabled people are met in privately rented accommodation. Let Barnet Council know what Disabled people need.
Closes 15 September 2026
The Annual Disabled Student Survey 2026
Been a Higher Education student in the UK at some point in the last year? Identify as Disabled? Complete this survey from Disabled Students UK to improve accessibility in Higher Education.
Closes 31 August 2026
Petition: Review NHS lipoedema care (created by Clare Adams)
Lipoedema is a chronic, progressive condition that is often misdiagnosed as obesity, leading to delayed care and worsening symptoms.
Sign the petition to request the Government review the NHS approach to diagnosis, referral and treatment of lipoedema, to include GP training and clear pathways to specialist care.
Closes 20 August 2026
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
Local and London news and events
Involvement workshop: residents experiencing inequalities (online from NHS West and North London)
Have you experienced inequality in providing feedback to local NHS services? This online workshop will provide an opportunity for residents and community organisations to discuss what meaningful involvement looks like, what makes participation difficult, and what the NHS can do differently to ensure everyone's voice is heard.
Thursday 13 August, 2.00pm, online
Book Involvement workshop: residents experiencing inequalities
Enabling Connections befriending service from Age UK Barnet
Age UK Barnet has launched Enabling Connections, a new short‑term befriending and support service created to help older people in Barnet who are feeling lonely, isolated or disconnected from their community.
The service offers up to six months of free, volunteer‑led support. Volunteers work one‑to‑one with individuals to help them regain confidence, rediscover interests, reconnect with friends and feel part of local life again. For people who are housebound, support focuses on digital skills and online connection - ensuring no one is left behind.
To find out more or make a referral: Call 0208 150 0967, email enablingconnections@ageukbarnet.org.uk, or complete the referral form which you can find on their website.
Audrey Amiss: The Surviving Exhibitions, at the Wellcome Collection
This is the first museum exhibition dedicated to artist Audrey Amiss, bringing together her drawings, paintings and archival materials. It explores her life as both an artist and a campaigner, showing how she used her work to challenge harmful treatment within the mental health system and advocate for change. The free exhibition also offers a range of access features, including audio description, British Sign Language, captions and large-print resources.
Open until 7 February 2027
Location: Wellcome Collection, 183 Euston Road, London NW1 2BE
Rudy Loewe: Intimacies of Care – Spaces of Grief and Possibility, at the Wellcome Collection
This is a free exhibition featuring sculpture, paintings, text and sound that explores the experiences of Black people whose mental healthcare has been shaped by racism in the UK. Created in collaboration with community organisations, it invites visitors to imagine more compassionate and equitable approaches to care, with a wide range of access features including audio description, British Sign Language, captions and sensory resources.
Open until 7 February 2027
Location: Wellcome Collection, 183 Euston Road, London NW1 2BE
Online and national resources
Contact helpline for families with Disabled children
The Contact helpline offers free information and advice for parents and unpaid carers of Disabled children and young people aged 0 - 25 across the UK. Advisors can help with topics including education, benefits, social care and preparing for adulthood, providing practical guidance to help families understand their rights and access support.
Helpline: 0808 808 3555
Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 9.30am–5.00pm (Tuesdays from 10.15am due to a team meeting). Closed on public holidays.
Beyond Barriers: the podcast shares the stories of Disabled people, their families and advocates, exploring the challenges they face as well as the achievements, resilience and community that help them thrive. Through honest conversations with a range of guests, the podcast aims to raise awareness, celebrate lived experience and encourage greater inclusion.
If you need help with getting the social care you need, you may benefit from two free social care chatbots which can help Disabled people understand their rights and access social care information. The tools provide guidance on topics including social care charges and Disability Related Expenditure, helping people to better understand their options and challenge decisions about support costs.
National news - local impact
'There's nowhere we can stay': The holiday struggle facing Disabled people (from BBC)
Evidence highlights potential of flexible working to close the disability employment gap (from Disability Rights UK)
Burnham’s cost-of-living steps welcomed, but Disabled campaigners say he must do much more (from Disability News Service)
Access Tips
Warning: This section includes mentions of suicide.
Spokin: allergy support app
Spokin is an app designed to help people and families manage food allergies by providing information, reviews and resources to support everyday decisions. It can help users find allergy-friendly restaurants, products and recipes, connect with others who share similar experiences, and access guidance to make managing allergies easier.
Lucid Read is a free Chrome extension providing 35+ tools for dyslexia, ADHD, and visual stress, including typography, colour overlays, text-to-speech, dictionary, bilingual support, and classroom tools.
Emergency video relay service for Deaf people to obtain help in an emergency using BSL.
Free app designed to provide evidence-based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) tools for managing anxiety, stress, and panic.
An app designed to help neurodivergent people (especially autistic individuals and families) discover and rate sensory-friendly, inclusive places around the world.
A free app for finding and marking wheelchair accessible places.
Be My Eyes connects blind or low vision users who want assistance, with volunteers and companies across the world, through live video and AI.
Seeing AI is a free app that narrates the world around you. Designed with and for the blind and low vision community, this ongoing research project harnesses the power of AI to open up the visual world. Seeing AI assists with daily tasks from reading, to describing photos, to identifying products, and more.
This free app helps Disabled people find accessible places. Wherever you're going, get accessibility information on your smartphone.
British Transport Police 61016 texting service
A non-emergency texting service for contacting the British Transport Police discreetly. You can text 61016 when:
- You want to tell BTP about an incident that has already happened
- You want to tell BTP about issues affecting your rail journey or your local station
- You have a general police enquiry
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
The importance of discussing and recognising the complexities of accessibility
When we think about accessibility, it is often easy to focus on the most familiar barriers: steps instead of ramps, heavy doors, or the absence of hearing loops. The ways in which society is structured and organised can Disable people in countless different ways, many of which can be less obvious. The social model of disability reminds us that people are Disabled by barriers in society. As well as physical, those barriers can be emotional, sensory, cognitive or psychological, and they can affect each person differently.
Technology has perhaps helped many aspects of accessibility. Navigation apps can suggest step-free routes, captioning makes videos more accessible, and smartphone apps can identify obstacles, read printed text aloud or help people communicate.
But imagine someone who can climb stairs but has an intense fear of escalators. A route-planning app may recommend a station because it is "accessible", yet fail to mention that the only way between platforms is by escalator. For that person, this route may be impossible.
There are many other examples. Someone with a sensory processing condition may need to avoid bright digital advertising screens or particularly noisy shopping centres. A person with a medical condition that requires immediate access to toilets may struggle if maps do not indicate reliable facilities. Someone with severe fragrance sensitivity may find certain public spaces unusable, while a person with a hidden condition causing sudden fatigue may need frequent places to rest that are rarely shown on navigation tools.
These experiences remind us that accessibility is deeply personal. A solution that works perfectly for one individual may create difficulties for another.
This is why conversations matter. By sharing our experiences, we help others understand barriers they may never have considered. Those discussions can also inspire developers, service providers and policymakers to create better tools and more inclusive environments.
Let's discuss and recognise that the ways people are Disabled are diverse. Let's listen to lived experience to come up with solutions that remove the very wide range of barriers that can prevent the fulfillment in life we all deserve.
Join us
Share YOUR lived experience:
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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:
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We're calling on the Government to work with organisations led by Disabled people to make employment 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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