Inc usion Annual Report 2022-2023 Supporting London'5 Doaf and Disabled People's Organisations IJOM 8309fft ANY ri LOCKED OUT OF CARE r][If 336 Brixton Road, London SW9 7AA info@inclusionlondon.org.uk 020 7237 3181 0771 839 4687 Website: www.inclusionlondon.org.uk Registered Charity number: 1157376 Company registration number: 6729420 2 **About Inclusion London** Inclusion London is the only London-wide organisation run by and for Deaf and Disabled people. We were set up in 2008. Our aim is to advance Deaf and Disabled people’s equality and inclusion by supporting Deaf and Disabled people’s organisations (DDPOs) in London to have a strong and influential voice and to run effective peer led services for the 1.2 million Deaf and Disabled people living in London. We believe in human rights, the Social Model of Disability, the Cultural Model of Deafness and independent living. We want a society where everyone is equal and where everyone is able to take part and is valued. We work to make this happen. We raise awareness and understanding about the barriers that disciminate against us and equally importantly how to remove these barriers. We work in an accessible way with Deaf and Disabled people always leading our work. ## **We have 3 key aims that direct what we do:** **1.** To support London DDPOs to have a strong voice so that the needs, interests and views of Deaf and Disabled people are met and disabling barriers removed. **2.** To provide accessible and effective services that build DDPOs’ skills and knowledge and help London DDPOs grow. **3.** To provide a range of training, support and peer networking opportunities to build our movement including our membership and activism, our collective identity and our voice and leadership. 3 **Chair’s Report** A very big welcome to Inclusion London’s annual report for the period April 2022 to March 2023. Our work and our vision, remains nothing less than full equality and inclusion for Disabled people with Deaf and Disabled Peoples’ Organisations (DDPOs) leading the change we need to see. As you will see we had another busy year! We worked with 70+ DDPOs in London providing a range of vital DDPO capacity building support with over 1,000 attendees at our training, events and forums all of which were focused on supporting and strengthening DDPOs work and influence. We also began work in new thematic areas including housing, de-institutionalisation and strategic communications. We also welcomed four new Trustees to our board. This report details some of the important work we carried out over the year to keep tackling the increasing structural inequity our communities and organisations are facing and to support our DDPO sector to be a thriving, sustainable and inclusive sector empowering our diverse communities to create the change we need. ## **Paul Hawkins, Chair of Inclusion London** ## **NOTE** In this annual report we use the term ‘Disabled people’ to mean all groups of people living with impairment including: - People with physical impairments - People with visual impairments - Deaf people - People with hearing impairments - People with learning difficulties - People who experience mental distress/mental health issues - People with long term health conditions - People who are neuro divergent - People with invisible impairments We recognise and respect that some of the groups (in our definition) do not think of themselves as being Disabled but we believe we are united by the disabling barriers we face in a disablist society. 4 **An overview of our work in 2022-2023** Here are a few highlights from the work we did over the year: ## **94 training courses** We ran 94 training courses, webinars, briefings, peer network and partnership meetings over the year attended by over 1,000 participants. **New DDPO Housing Network** We successfully set up and supported a new DDPO Housing Network which currently has 20 DDPO members. ## **Concessions within the ULEZ scheme** We successfully campaigned to ensure the new ULEZ scheme in London now includes significant concessions for Disabled Londoners. ## **Disability Poverty Campaign Group** Together with Disability Rights UK we set up and supported the Disability Poverty Campaign Group (DPCG), a coalition of 20 DDPOs and charities working on poverty. ## **Support resources** We continued to create resources to help Disabled people know their rights including developing a chat bot[1] which will help Disabled people identify and evidence their Disability Related Expenditure so they can protect more of their money from being taken away in social care charges. We are now working with DDPOs and carers’ groups across England to support people and organisations to use the chatbot. ## **Social care campaign** We co-ordinated a campaign to highlight the dire impact of social care charging debt which included 3668 individuals writing to their MPs. 1 https://www.inclusionlondon.org.uk/chat-bot/ 5 ## **Hate Crime Report** We published ‘Disability, Crime, and Hate Crime in the News’[2] report, which explored media reporting on crime involving Disabled people. ## **Free Our People Now project** We successfully set up the Free Our People Now project (FOPN)[3] to help end the detention of Disabled people in institutions by building the confidence, skills and capacity of Disabled inpatients and Disabled allies to support each other to better challenge detention and to secure appropriate community-based support. ## **Business /organisational training support** We provided business /organisational training support to 73 representatives from DDPOs and 16 DDPOs received 121 organisational / business support. ## **Work with key Charitable Trust** We continued work with key Charitable Trust funders to increase awareness of disability as a social justice/human rights issue and the unique role and contribution of DDPOs as distinct from the wider disability charity sector which is dominated by organisations that are not run by Disabled people and don’t represent our experiences or views. ## **In 2022-2023** - We had a total income of £1,112,197 - We spent a total of £1,111,926 - We now have £ 352,113 in our unrestricted reserve - 2 Disability, Crime and Hate Crime in the News (Easy Read) - Inclusion London 3 Free Our People Now - Inclusion London 6 **Some Photos from 2022-2023** **IL on the BBC News** **Keep guards on trains petition at No10** **IL staff giving evidence to MPs** **ULEZ scrappage launch event** 7 **Inclusion London Trustee and Staff Away day** **----- Start of picture text -----**
The Foundry
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8 ## **What DDPOs said about our work in 2022-2023** I found the session far more engaging and accessible than other fundingrelated training I’ve attended. The tools used were ideal, and the breakout room exercise was much more interesting and thought-provoking than such things usually are. As a neurodivergent person, the combination of delivery methods worked really well to keep me focused. It was also massively appreciated that there were regular breaks. The trainer was excellent. **Writing successful bids training session Dec 22** Good to have the space to raise the issues and my understanding and think about the potential to build DDPOs to respond to intersectional barriers. ## **Intersectionality and anti-racism training June 2022** - I found the trainer very kind, helpful, - patient, mindful. Great knowledge on hate crime. ## **Disability Hate crime training Dec 22** I like all of it — a brilliant place to learn, network and make a meaningful difference to people needing assistance. **DDPO Housing network** - I have a much clearer picture of the - audience we are trying to reach and better understanding of the difference in demographics. ## **DDPO partner on our Talking about Disability project** I feel I am now confident enough to represent a client at tribunal and read further into legislation and case law. I felt everything was beyond perfect, especially the trainer. **SVRR Training Oct 22** I was not aware of framing before and how the right narrative can help influence a shift behaviours. This will really help us to avoid triggering negative emotions and help our messages land more successfully. ## **DDPO partner on our Talking about Disability project** Fab presentation! Can’t wait to start trialing the DRE (disability related expenditure chatbot) tool! Thanks Inclusion London! **DRE Chatbot training session Mar 22** Genuine peer support - people really opened up and talked about fear and difficult stuff. **SVRR Peer network meeting Jan 23** 9 **Our campaigns, justice and policy work** We continued our on-going disability equality work on rights, equality and inclusion as well as our work on specific priority issues including social care/ independent living, welfare reform, poverty and the cost-of-living crisis. We also began funded work on housing and de-institutionalisation and continued to provide targeted support to intersectional DDPOs. We carried out the following key work, funded by Trust for London, Three Guineas Trust and the Oak Foundation: ## **Housing:** We successfully set up our Housing project, work included: • Providing 121 support and funding to three local DDPO led campaigns on: disrepair, personal emergency evacuation plan (PEEP) issues and inaccessible communications / information from housing associations for Deaf people of colour. • Setting up the DDPO Housing network which now has a membership of 20 DDPOs. • Securing representation on GLA’s Housing Panel which gives us the opportunity to raise the profile of disability specific housing issues at strategic level and work with other housing campaigns in London. ## **Social care/independent living:** We carried out a range of campaigns, policy and voice work on these foundational issues including: • Continuing a leadership role supporting the ‘scrap care charging’ campaign coalition. • Developing and rolling out our Disability Related Expenditure chatbot funded by the GLA. • Lobbying the government to increase the Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG) in line with inflation; as a result the government raised MIG in line with inflation that year, which resulted in social care users, who pay social care charges out of their benefits, keeping an additional £780 per annum of their money. 10 • Highlighting the dire impact of social charging debt by carrying out FOI based research into social care charging debt for local authorities in London and coordinating this with similar research in Greater Manchester. We used the findings to persuade the BBC to conduct an investigation across England, which led to extensive coverage of the issue across the BBC channels[4] . • We provided extensive evidence and facilitated two meetings between the Fabian Society (who have been commissioned by the Labour Party to develop initial social care policy proposals) and the national DPO Forum to enable DDPOs to feed into the development of Labour’s National Care Service proposals. ## **Poverty/cost of living crisis:** We carried out a range of campaigns, policy and voice work including: • Working with Disability Rights UK to set up and support the Disability Poverty Campaign Group (DPCG), a coalition of DDPOs and charities working on poverty. The campaign group now includes 35 organisations, of which 20 are DDPOs. • Co-leading a campaign to ban forced pre-payment meters in households with a Disabled person. We sent 734 letters to MPs[5] from constituents on the issue. As a result of this work and the work of other organisations campaigning in this space, Ofgem published a new Code of Practice which effectively banned forced installation of a prepayment meter in relation to some Disabled people last year. • Work to influence government policy on the cost-of-living crisis including producing parliamentary briefings and sharing information with the Work and Pensions and Women and Equalities Select Committees. We also facilitated two meetings with policy leads from the government’s Disability Unit responsible for developing policy on the cost of living and DDPOs. 4 https://twitter.com/InclusionLondon/status/1628383935247024135 5 https://actionnetwork.org/letters/take-action-to-stop-energy-companies-fromimposing-prepayment-meters-on-disabled-households/?source=twitter& 11 ## **Engagement with the government and strategic coordination among DDPOs:** Work included: • Giving oral evidence to London Assembly on ULEZ, to the Women and Equalities Select Committee on the court judgment that the National Disability Strategy was unlawful and the Work and Pensions select committee on disability benefit assessments. • Facilitating monthly meetings of the national DPO Forum England which is a growing but currently unfunded network of over 40 DDPOs across England. These meetings give DDPOs the opportunity to coordinate campaigns, identify priority issues and jointly respond to policy developments. • Supporting the DPO forum’s work to lobby the Minister for Disabled people and the Disability Unit to commit to regular engagement with the DPO Forum. The forum now has quarterly meetings with the Minister for Disabled People. We support DDPOs who are involved in those meetings to prepare, develop messages and specific asks for the meetings with the Minister and jointly coordinate and facilitate working between Disability Unit and the DPO forum. • We continued to support the quarterly strategic DDPO stakeholder engagement forum with the GLA. ## **We also:** • Set up and ran an intensive campaign leadership programme for 11 Disabled activists. • Continued to support the London campaign forum which meets quarterly and has a membership of over 140 activists. • Ran a total of 50 campaigns, policy and justice training, briefings and forums for DDPOs over the year. 12 **Our work to strengthen London DDPOs** We ran four projects funded by the City Bridge Trust, National Lottery Community Fund, Three Guineas Trust and Trust for London over the year to support and strengthen DDPOs. ## **DDPO Organisational Support** Despite having just 21hrs per week of dedicated organisational support capacity we provided a core range of organisational support to 73 representatives from DDPOs across the year with 16 DDPO receiving 121 organisational /business support. Specifically, we: • Commissioned and delivered nine bespoke training workshops for DDPOs. • Provided 175 hours of targeted advice, information and coaching support to DDPOs. • Supported 5 DDPOs with a successful £700,000 funding Partnership application to Propel to increase the number of Disabled people entering advice work within DDPOs and to create better career progression pathways for Disabled advice workers so they stay in our sector. • Provided funding advice and pre-application support to over 40 DDPOs. • Completed and piloted our new DDPO organisational Health Check which now includes 121 follow up support focused on strengthening the organisational structure and funding strategy of DDPOs. **‘Strengthening Voices, Realising Rights’ (SVRR) capacity building support** This project, funded by Trust for London, provides a range of training, advice and peer network opportunities to DDPOs providing advice services funded by Trust for London’s groundbreaking ‘Strengthening Voices, Realising Rights’ funding programme. Over the year we delivered a total of 15 training courses and peer network meetings which were attended by 176 DDPO representatives. Training covered a range of advice service skills and advice subjects including: ‘File Casework Management’; ‘Representing at the First Tier Tribunal; ‘Universal Credit and Disabled claimants’ and ‘Maintaining emotional resilience’. 13 ## **Cornerstone: Talking about disability project** With funding from the City Bridge Trust Cornerstone Fund, we jointly set up the ‘Talking about disability[6] ’ project with Inclusion Barnet. The aim of the project is to help change the way people think about disability so that more people feel motivated to help make society more inclusive and accessible. We also want Disabled people and non-disabled people, to know more about DDPOs and our role in helping create more equal communities. Working with Equally Ours and six other DDPO project partners, the project is creating new ways of talking about disability, harnessing the best knowledge and practice from strategic communication approaches. Over the first year of project work we: • Delivered four DDPO partner workshops to induct partners in the project and upskill partners in strategic communication approaches • Commissioned and produced three significant pieces of research: a) An in-depth Discourse analysis research paper on ‘Disability in the British newspapers and parliamentary debates’. b) A Literature review on ‘Dominant Narratives of Disability in the United Kingdom’. c) A ‘Survation’ report on findings from the four focus groups was produced: ‘Qualitative Research Report: Reframing Disability’. • Produced a mid-project report by Equally Ours that has provided the project with the information we need to develop a final set of reframed disability messages that we will then use and evaluate in year two. 14 6 Cornerstone Project: Talking about disability - Inclusion London ## **London DDPO Hate Crime Partnership** With funding from the Three Guineas Trust and the National Lottery Community Fund we continued to provide a range of capacity building support to the 26 DDPO members of the London DDPO Hate Crime Partnership as well as carry out a range of related research, representation and policy work. Over the year we: • We used findings from our six-month report on the Disability hate crime data project to improve our data collection. This data has been used for campaigning, responses to policy and in advocating for change within hate crime and criminal justice spaces. • Identified key barriers to accessing the criminal justice system for Disabled victims of hate crime and offered guidance and advice to the Metropolitan Police on how to start to resolve these. • Continued to hold quarterly London DDPO Hate Crime Partnership meetings and supporting DDPOs to become members. • Published the ‘Disability, Crime and Hate Crime in the News’ report, which explored media reporting on crime involving Disabled people and the role this plays in perpetuating disablism. The report offers guidance to journalists on responsible reporting and respectful reporting on Disabled victims. It includes practical advice for recognising and eliminating disablist rhetoric in crime reporting. • Released guidance for DDPOs on securing funding for Hate Crime advocates and campaigned for improved understanding on the importance of such specialised advocates. • Continued active participation and representation in Metropolitan police consultation forums. • Organised an event titled ‘‘Women, Disability and Hate Crime’’ as part of Rene Cassin’s Judith Social Justice Series. • Compiled a Hate Crime Advocacy Qualification and Training Research report and a proposal report for Hate Crime Advocate Posts at DDPOs, building on the partnership’s secondment capacity-building project. • Participated in the Victim’s Law Consultation to provide expert insights and responded to London’s Police and Crime Plan, advocating for better systems and support for Disabled victims within the new plan. • Co-facilitated training on Disability Hate Crime Matters with late and much missed Ruth Bashall, targeting HCOPs and Police Officers. • Completed a large co-produced training programme, supporting DDPOs to deliver disability hate crime training to organisations including local councils. 15 **Some of the resources and links featured in this report:** **Reduce your social care charges today - Inclusion London** https://www.inclusionlondon.org.uk/chat-bot/ ## **Free Our People Now - Inclusion London** https://www.inclusionlondon.org.uk/campaigns-andpolicy/free-our-people-now/free-our-people-now/ ## **Guide to Campaigning Toolkit - Inclusion London** https://www.inclusionlondon.org.uk/campaigns-and-policy/how-tocampaign/guide-to-campaigning-toolkit/ **Cornerstone Project: Talking about disability - Inclusion London** https://www.inclusionlondon.org.uk/news/cornerstone-project-talkingabout-disability/ ## **Disability, Crime and Hate Crime in the News (Easy Read) - Inclusion London** https://www.inclusionlondon.org.uk/ services-and-support/our-projects/hate-crimepartnership/disability-crime-and-hate-crime-inthe-news-easy-read/ 16 **List of Inclusion London staff and Trustees in 2022-23** ## **The Trustees who served us over the year were:** Indigo Rose Fuller Ayling (appointed 21.2.23) Stephen Mark Bunbury (appointed 21.2.23) Valerie Charbit Adam Gabsi Aisling Gallagher Paul Hawkins Justine Jones (resigned 23.2.23) Kush Kanodia (appointed 21.2.23) Natalie Jane South-Law (appointed 21.2.23) Thomas Adam Lichy ## **The staff team who worked for us over the year were:** - Jumoke Abdullahi, Communications and Media Officer (contract ended on 03.08.22) Jon Abrams, Campaigns and Justice Coordinator - Simone Aspis, Free our People Now Project Manager (joined on 18.07.22) Lara Conner, Hate Crime Data and Insight Officer - Mark Drinkwater, Communications Manager (joined on 25.11.22) Priscilla Eyles, With Us Project Coordinator (resigned on 25.04.22) Rensa Gaunt, Media and Communications Officer (joined on 07.09.22) - Christine Hathway, Senior Administrator Mariella Hill, Policy and Campaigns Officer (joined on 10.01.23) - Louise Holden, Hate Crime Partnership Project Manager - Svetlana Kotova, Director of Campaigns and Justice Tracey Lazard, Chief Executive Officer - Ailsa McWilliam, Interim Director of Services and Development Julia Modern, Senior Policy & Stakeholder Engagement Manager (resigned 30.09.22) - Gelila Tekle-Mariam, Operations Manager Laura Vicinanza, Policy and Stakeholder Engagement Manager Sian Williams, Making It Work Project Manager (contract ended on 04.11.22) 17 ## **Audited accounts summary** Statement of Financial Position ## **For the year ended 31 March 2023** |**Notes**
2
11
3
**Unrestricted**
**Funds**
**£**
**Restricted**
**Funds**
**£**
**INCOME AND**
**ENDOWMENTS FROM**
Donatons and legacies
Other income
68,710
1,019,433
24,054
-
**Total**
**EXPENDITURE ON**
Charitable actvites
Support of DDPOs
**NET INCOME (EXPENDITURE)**
Transfers between funds
Net movement in funds
**Reconcilitaton of Funds**
Total funds brought forward
**TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD**
**92,764**
**1,019,433**
83,223
1,028,703
**9,541**
**22,111**
**31,652**
**(9,270)**
**(22,111)**
**(31,381)**
**352,113**
**274,950**
320,461
306,331|**2023**
**Total**
**Funds**
**£**
1,088,143
24,054
**1,112,197**
1,111,926
**271**
**-**
**271**
**627,063**
626,792|**2022**
**Total**
**Funds**
**£**
1,015,180
16,163| |---|---|---| |||**1,031,343**
1,019,235| |||**12,108**
**-**| |||**12,108**
614,684| |||**626,792**| 18 ## **List of funders** ## We thank our funders for their support: City Bridge Trust; Trust for London; Oak Foundation; National Lottery Community Fund; Greater London Authority and The Three Guineas Trust 19 ## **DDPOs - become a member** Join our community of London’s Deaf and Disabled People’s Organisations (DDPOs) by becoming an Inclusion London member. As a member you will be able to get access to all our resources and help decide on the work that we do by voting at our Annual General Meeting. ## **Deaf and Disabled People’s Organisations Noticeboard:** On this online noticeboard you can tell people news, post events and advertise jobs or roles that need filling at your organisation. ## **Sign up** at www.inclusionlondon.org.uk/membership 336 Brixton Road, London SW9 7AA info@inclusionlondon.org.uk 020 7237 3181 0771 839 4687 Website: www.inclusionlondon.org.uk Registered Charity number: 1157376 Company registration number: 6729420 Some of the illustrations in this document have been drawn by Sarah Howgate.