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December 2025 newsletter
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Welcome to the December edition of the Inclusion Barnet member newsletter!
It's full of information on developments at Inclusion Barnet, our closing times over the festive period, consultations, online resources, 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
The Government’s budget announcement last week took a few days to fully unravel, with hidden details emerging slowly as we worked to interpret what the changes might mean for Disabled people. While we are relieved that there were no further cuts to key benefits, such as PIP, as we’d feared, and the abolition of the 2-child limit in Universal Credit (UC) was very welcome, there was still some unwelcome news on Motability and freezing of amounts for private sector rents in Housing Benefit and UC. Please read our Budget response blog on our Campaign for Disability Justice website for more detailed information on how the budget might impact you.
Overall, we believe the hard work of all the campaigners and disability organisations, including our Campaign for Disability Justice, who strongly opposed the proposed cuts earlier this year went some way toward reducing the scale of cuts that might have otherwise been on the table.
In the meantime, we will continue to challenge harmful cuts or changes that negatively impact Disabled people.
Closer to home, in this issue we have a round up from our recent members' meeting, some great funding news to share on our Healthy Heart project and Touchpoint service and some developments in our libraries.
Wishing you all a peaceful festive season.
Claire Fisher
Head of Communications and Engagement
Break over the festive period
Over the festive period we at Inclusion Barnet are taking a short break. We will have a very small number of staff working from Monday 22nd December to Wednesday 24th December and we will be completely closed from midday on Wednesday 24th December – Friday 2nd January. Wishing everyone in the Barnet community happy holidays and see you in the New Year!
First User Voice monthly members' meeting
Our first User Voice meeting took place on 21st November, with a good turnout in person at our accessible Inclusion Barnet offices, or online via Zoom. This was an initial opportunity for Inclusion Barnet members to share experiences and ideas and talk about changes in policy and services that impact Disabled people in Barnet. Participants took part in several fruitful discussions including about core Inclusion Barnet services and the adult safeguarding process. It was great to have Keely Parnaby, our Director of Peer Services to facilitate discussions and explain in detail about safeguarding. Colette Gallagher, our Senior Touchpoint Peer Worker, also gave an excellent introduction to Touchpoint Peer Support and Benefits Advice, with participants learning about what these services can offer Disabled people in Barnet. Participants fully engaged in the discussions, and the session was illuminating for all, providing a forum for the views of all those who attended.
The next meeting is scheduled for 16th January and meetings will continue monthly thereafter. Further information to follow in the January Inclusion Barnet news.
If you are not an Inclusion Barnet member and would like to become one, enabling you to attend the User Voice meetings, you can join via the Inclusion Barnet website.
Healthy Heart peer engagement project: expanding impact across Barnet
Over the past three months – September, October and November – and continuing into December, the Healthy Heart project has been hard at work bringing vital heart-health education directly into the African, Caribbean and South Asian communities in Barnet. In partnership with GP practices Everglades, Oak Lodge, Parkview and Watling, the team successfully delivered an intensive two-session programme designed to help residents take meaningful steps toward healthier lives.
Thanks to the collaboration between Care Co-ordinators, Social Prescribers, Practice Managers, the Community Dietician, and the Community Pharmacist, alongside Peer Engagement Officers Salna and Riffat, 74 local residents received personalised guidance on improving diet, increasing physical activity, and reducing long-term health risks.
We are also delighted to share that Barnet Public Health have confirmed additional funding, enabling the project to continue through March 2026. This support ensures we can keep building momentum, reach more residents, and sustain meaningful health improvements across the borough.
Stay tuned for the Year 4 Impact Report, expected at the end of April 2026, as we continue our mission to empower local communities with the knowledge and support they need for healthier hearts and healthier lives.
Hot drinks and Dyslexia-friendly book displays in New Barnet and South Friern Libraries
Fancy somewhere warm to have a cuppa and chat? From week beginning 8 December, our two libraries will be offering free hot beverages and biscuits at the following times:-
South Friern Library: Wednesdays 10.00am-3.00pm
New Barnet Library: Fridays 10.00am-3.00pm
Both libraries also now have separate displays for dyslexia-friendly books, making these books easier to find. Why not pop along this month to borrow one to read over the festive period?
Nick, Verene and all the team at both South Friern Library and New Barnet Library would like to thank everyone, all of the incredible volunteers, library users, Inclusion Barnet colleagues and Barnet Libraries for making 2025 yet another wonderful year at our IB libraries. Looking forward to seeing you all, and some of you for the first time, in 2026!
Touchpoint has a new supporter!
Touchpoint Peer Support has been awarded a Bright Futures grant, fully funding it until August 2026!
Touchpoint Peer Support could be the right service for you if:
- You feel yourself to be Disabled because of a physical or sensory impairment, mental health issues, deafness, learning disabilities, neurodivergence and/or long-term conditions, and
- You live, study or work in the borough of Barnet, and
- You are finding it hard to access the support or resources you need to live the life you want to live.
More information about Touchpoint Peer Support.
The Touchpoint Benefits Advice Service remains closed to new referrals until further notice.
In November, we were sad to see the departures of Liam Konneman, Communications Officer, and Karen Hart, Project Manager for Grange Big Local. Both made very valuable contributions and we wish them every success in the future.
A warm welcome to Prsna Hirani-Shah, Communications Officer - Projects, and Laura Mackenzie, Project and Administration Support in the Communities Team, who both joined in November.
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 are opportunities to get involved in this month:
Draft parks and open spaces strategy for Barnet 2025 – 2035 consultation
Give your feedback on Barnet Council's six strategic aims to make sure the parks and open spaces enhance the quality of life of all in Barnet. So important these free, community areas are accessible to everyone.
More information and give your feedback
Closes 7 January 2026
Open consultation: Make Work Pay - duty to inform workers of right to join a union
There’s a new duty on employers to inform workers of their right to join a trade union. This consultation is about how it should work in practice. Let's make sure Disabled people's needs are met.
More information and give your views
Closes 18 December
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
British Sign Language tours: Gilbert & George, Saturday 6 December 2025, 5.00pm
Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX
A BSL tour of Gilbert & George: 21st Century Pictures. Artist Rubbena Aurangzeb-Tariq leads you through the exhibition’s themes and inspirations.
Disabled Queer Xmas Party, Saturday 6 December, 6.00pm
Music Room London, 116-118 New Cross Road, London SE14 5BA
A night of dancing, singing, celebrating and being your full fantastic self.
Accessibility - Accessible Toilets, BSL Interpreter, Complimentary Ticket for Assistant, Quiet Space, Service Animals Area, Step Free Access, Wheelchair Accessible
Online and national resources
A friendly online community enabling the rehoming of disability care products, providing support for Disabled adults and children.
Celebrating disability podcasts
Podcasts where Disabled people talk about their lived experience.
National news - local impact
Access Tips
Warning: This section includes mentions of suicide.
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
Help make product packaging and labelling accessible
We've all come across products where the packaging can be difficult for some to open or the labelling difficult to read or interpret. Here are some ways to use your influence to try to rectify this:-
- Give specific, constructive feedback to companies. Contact us forms could be used to let a company know if they are not meeting accessibility needs with their packaging or labelling.
- Support and highlight brands doing it right by buying from those companies or writing positive reviews.
- Join or collaborate with consumer advocacy campaigns, for example:- Research Institute for Disabled Consumers Which? Consumers Association
- Get involved with product testing, for example through AbilityNet
Let's make packaging and labelling accessible to all!
Join us
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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.
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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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