Inclusion London

Svetlana Kotova, director of campaigns and justice for Inclusion London, which provided a witness statement for the legal case, and worked with Clifford and her lawyers, said: “We are delighted that the court has seen beyond the DWP’s deceptive tactics and upheld the rule of law. “The legal judgment handed down last week is a damning indictment against the previous government’s attempts to obscure their plans for huge cuts to essential benefits, for nearly half a million disabled people.” She added: “We would urge the Labour government to start working with disabled people and to use this ruling as an opportunity to rethink their approach to social security. “They must not simply announce the same devastating cuts in a different way – they must stop pursuing Tory policies that do not work and will cause disabled people so much harm.”

Are you Disabled or living with a long-term health condition in London? We want to hear your experiences of finding and staying in work. Learning and Work Institute and Inclusion London are conducting a research project on your experiences of employment, to inform the delivery of the new Connect to Work Supported Employment programme in London. Find out more and sign up for a focus group: https://buff.ly/4g9vwpc

We ❤️ working with our fellow DDPOs to strengthen Disabled voices in London and support people to know their rights. Inclusion London's Jon and Svetlana joined Richmond AID on Monday to deliver a workshop on 'Using the Law to Challenge Discrimination', focused on housing.

Are you Disabled or living with a long-term health condition? We want to hear your experiences of finding and staying in work. Learning and Work Institute and Inclusion London are conducting a research project on your experiences of employment to inform the delivery of the new Connect to Work Supported Employment programme in London. Get in touch if you're interested in taking part. Find out more: https://buff.ly/4g9vwpc

Ellen Clifford's court victory yesterday shows that the previous government's consultation on changes to the Work Capability Assessment was unlawful. Despite this, Labour seems to still be considering similar changes. Svetlana Kotova, director of campaigns and justice at Inclusion London, said Labour "must stop pursuing Tory policies that do not work and will cause disabled people so much harm". Read the article on the Big Issue: https://lnkd.in/eucsH_tW

We are pleased the court has seen beyond the DWP’s deceptive tactics and upheld the rule of law today. The legal judgment handed down today is a damning indictment against the previous governments cynical obscuring of a key reason for the WCA consultation - namely to make significant cuts to essential benefits of nearly half a million disabled people. We were pleased to be part of this legal challenge including submitting evidence and thank Ellen Clifford for having the courage to take this action. The WCA policy if implemented would be devastating for more than 450,000 Disabled people – already some of the poorest and most excluded in our society. The judge was clear today, if the government wants to carry out policies that have such potentially significant impact then the government must consult in a meaningful and transparent way so that people can have a genuine say. We now call on the Government to start to work with Disabled people and to use this ruling as an opportunity not to pursue Tory policies that don’t work and that have caused Disabled people so much harm. When our country ratified UN Convention on the Rights of Disabled people, it promised to protect our right to an adequate standard of living and to co-produce policies with us. We urge the government to stop, rethink and drop this deeply harmful policy and start seeing social security support as an as an investment in people’s lives. Learn more about the ruling:

Do you know a Deaf or Disabled person with untapped leadership potential? (It could be you!) They might be a perfect fit for our Growing Our Own Leaders programme. Our leadership programme gives Disabled people a chance to lead a project based on a change they want to achieve for their organisation or community. We give participants the funding, time and support they need to build skills, make connections and effect real change. We're recruiting now for the next round of the programme, beginning in April 2025. All applicants must be nominated by a DDPO (Deaf and Disabled People's Organisation). Staff, volunteers, members and trustees are all welcome to apply. The deadline to apply is 5th February 2025. https://buff.ly/3Cb6GaL

Jon Abrams, campaigns and justice coordinator for Inclusion London said: “Disabled people don’t need more reports – we need urgent, transformative reform to address the chronic underfunding and systemic failures in social care.” #ScrapCareCharges

Four days to go! If you or your charity is based in or serves Greater London, come along to our next peer support session on Tuesday 14 January. Thanks to specialist funder City Bridge Foundation, we regularly bring together a friendly group of people to network, share ideas, and address common #governance topics. Our guest speaker for next week's session is Stephen Bunbury SFHEA, co-chair of Inclusion London. Stephen is also co-chair of the BME Colleague Network at the University of Westminster. He is a Reader (Associate Professor) in Law, based at Westminster Law School - University of Westminster. Stephen's wide range of experience in strategic leadership, as well as research expertise in equality law and disability discrimination, will be of huge value to us all. Booking is free. Venue details will be given when your place is confirmed. Click the link to book your free place: https://lnkd.in/efzdi3eN Image description for accessibility: navy writing reads "Disability inclusion on charity boards / Inclusion London co-chair Stephen Bunbury will speak at our next peer support session for London chairs, Tuesday 14 January, 6 – 8 pm" Logos of Association of Chairs, Inclusion London, and program funder City Bridge Foundation. Headshot of Stephen within a pink speech bubble icon. Faint background of tiny blue speech bubble icons.

Are you a chair of a DDPO? Join our co-chair, Stephen Bunbury, talking about disability inclusion on charity boards, at the Association of Chairs January peer support session. 🗓️ Tuesday 14 January 2025 ⏰ 5:30 pm - 8:00 pm More info and to book: