Residents United Forum - Report to 30 November 2025
About RUF
We are Residents United Forum. We call ourselves RUF for short. We are a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (also known as a CIO). We were registered with the Charity Commission on the 17th November 2023 and our Charity Registration Number is1205784. RUF is governed by a set of rules called a “Constitution”.
RUF is led by and for Disabled people mainly in the London Borough of Newham. The RUF trustees are representatives of different local groups, all Newham residents with lived experiences as Disabled people and carers.
What RUF does
RUF helps disabled people and their carers in Newham to raise their voice and advocate for change. Disabled residents’ efforts to speak up has been met with resistance from decision makers and has resulted in little change.
Our mission is to make Newham an accessible and inclusive borough for all Disabled residents. We aim to build lasting working relationships that support statutory bodies to embed true co-production within the decision-making processes, adopt an inclusive approach, and strengthen the voices for all Disabled residents.
RUF provides information to Disabled people to help them access services, entitlement and opportunities; training and support for Disabled people; and represents the views, needs and interest of Disabled people.
We want improved service provision that better supports Disabled residents to fulfil their potential, to be treated with dignity and respect. We want to remove societal barriers and improve attitudes and working cultures that support and promote inclusion, where Disabled resident’s rights are upheld, eliminating all forms of racism, inequality, and discrimination within Newham.
The first Trustees of Residents United Forum are:
| Name | Organisation | Date to stand for re-election as a trustee. |
|---|---|---|
| Sandra Amoah | ASK User-led Mental Health Group | 17 November 2027 |
| Sarifa Patel | Disability Reps Forum | 17 November 2027 |
| Yamoundow Nije |
Newham Parent Carer Forum | 17 November 2025 |
| Christine Dolyak | Disability Reps Forum | 17 November 2026 |
| Prabhudas Tanna |
Senior Learning Disability Group | 17 November 2025 |
Yamou and Prabhudas will be invited to stand for re-election as trustees at the AGM on the 26th February 2026. RUF is currently recruiting additional trustees to join the Trustee Board.
RUF appointed Dr Remi Lasekan Osunsanya as a trustee on 21st February 2025 as a representative of the Senior Learning Disability Group but it is with extreme sadness that we report Remi died on the 25th July 2025.
Our inclusive approach to disability
When talking about Disabled People we include people with: physical impairments, sensory impairments, mental distress or mental health issues, people with learning difficulties or learning disabilities, people with long term health conditions and hidden impairments, people living with HIV or AIDs and people who use or have used drug or alcohol services.
We also include disabled people of all ages, including disabled children, disabled young people and disabled parents.
What we have been doing
This report says what RUF has been doing in the year since our last report and covers the period 1st December 2024 to 30 November 2025.
We have been working to complete the Hidden Voices project which was funded by the Greater London Authority. To complete the project we have:
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Purchased 3 years subscription for the website address www.ruf.org.uk.
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Spent time updating our website so that it is more helpful for Disabled people in Newham. This includes:
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Making our two published reports available. These reports raise the voice of Disabled people in Newham.
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A page which signposts people to sources of help and support.
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Information about how to contact the monthly meetings for specific areas of focus such as mental health and learning disabilities.
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Information about upcoming events
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Recruitment of new trustees.
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We printed 25 copies of the Hidden Voices report so that we could hand this inperson to key decision makers such as the Director of Adult Social Care at the Council.
RUF members have continued having monthly member meetings, addressing concerns in relation to specific needs and experiences. We have supported people with mental health concerns. Also supported parents with challenges in being able to secure care and support for young and adult Disabled children. We have supported people with a wide range of physical Disabilities to raise their voice.
To carry out our influencing activity we do this through participating in Newham Council CoProduction forum, reaching out to Council staff and Councillors. We were sad to hear about the passing of Councillor Neil Wilson, who as the lead for Adult Social Care for many years tried to work with us to support us in raising issues our members are concerned about.
What we achieved – our impact
We have worked to influence in a more impactful way through participating in important forums, drawing on the lived experience of our members to argue for change.
We were aiming for change where:
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Disabled people are empowered and not discriminated against
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Disabled people’s voices are heard, listened to and acted upon
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Disabled people are valued, and treated with respect and dignity
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Newham is an inclusive and accessible borough for all.
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In July 2025 we contributed to Newham Council’s Independent Commission on Belonging and Inclusion for Multi-ethnic Newham. We shared copies of our two published reports into the experiences of disabled people in Newham.
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RUF representative attending Inclusion London’s Co-Production network. This has allowed us to raise the voice of Disabled people in Newham as part of the wider discussion of the experience of Disabled people across London. It has also enabled us to learn from others and share our own expertise in co-production.
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RUF representatives participated in a conference held by the Greater London Authority in September 2025 about the experience of Disabled people in London. We were able to challenge some of the assumptions that the GLA were making about how Disabled need to access services. For example, the GLA were focusing on providing support via Family Centres but this was not taking sufficient account of how older Disabled people will access support. Also, we raised concerns about the lack of availability of taxi services on Fridays or taxis that will accept Guide Dogs. We were able to raise issues about the impact of road works on Disabled people and the lack of accessibility in new build homes.
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We contributed to discussions about the assistance that should be available to Disabled people in hospital and pursed this via social workers at Newham General Hospital.
Our AGM as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation
On the 21st February 2025 we held our Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the Swift Centre in Barking Road, Plaistow. At the AGM we celebrated our third birthday as an “official” organisation.
The AGM was very well attended by people experiencing a wide range of Disabilities. 21 members attended in-person as well as our trustees and the Director of Adult Social Care from Newham Council. It is an important opportunity for our members to be able to speak up for themselves.
We received positive feedback about the accessibility of the venue and how attendees were supported and encouraged to speak up and ask questions.
Next Steps
Towards the end of 2025 we have been gathering evidence of Disabled people in Newham receiving very large invoices from Newham Council requesting financial contribution towards the cost of social care provided in the past. Some of these invoices are for tens of thousands of £s. RUF Trustees are seeking additional skilled expertise to support our members with the challenges they are facing.
We are exploring developing a project with REAL – a Deaf and Disabled People’s Organisation in the neighbouring borough of Tower Hamlets. REAL have expertise in providing 1-2-1 advocacy support for Disabled people.
We are applying for grant funding to create a joint project with REAL to provide 1-2-1 Advocacy support to RUF members. This will improve the experience and outcomes for the individuals who receive the 1-2-1 Advocacy support and create a weighty evidence base of the charges being made by Newham Council. We will learn whether the charges
are reasonable, fair and accurate or whether they can be challenged. The learnings from this project have the potential to benefit all Disabled people in Newham.
We are also seeking to work with Newham charity Money A+E. They may be able to bring additional 1-2-1 support for RUF members with financial concerns. We are asking Money A+E if they can help us develop guidance or workshops to train Disabled people to be aware of financial fraud and scamming.
We continue to work on the steps on our ladder to build our organisation. When we complete a step on the ladder we colour it green. Our next steps are to focus on:
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Building our membership including more Disabled people in Newham
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Recruiting additional trustees skilled in finance and secretarial roles
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Developing more programmes to support Disabled people in Newham.
Money we have received and spent
We did not receive any new grants during the year to 30th November 2024 or the year to 30th November 2025.
During 2025 we applied to seven different organisations for grant funding.
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We know we were unsuccessful in four of these grant applications.
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We are still waiting to hear regarding three of our other grant applications, which have long wait times until a decision is made.
We received some clear feedback about one of our unsuccessful grant applications – the organisation was concerned that we did not achieve any new income during 2024. One organisation has invited us to re-apply, which we are doing now.
We have been able to fund our AGM, public liability insurance and other running costs from the funds on hand. We have sufficient funds to take the same approach for at least another year.
| Income | Nov 2023 | Nov 2024 | Nov 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roots Incubator Grant | £5,000 | £0 | £0 |
| Westfield Community Fund–2 Grants | £1,000 | £0 | £0 |
| Building Stronger Communities Grant | £10,000 | £0 | £0 |
| Donations | £130 | £0 | £135 |
| Total Income | £16,130 | £0 | £135 |
| Expenditure | |||
| Roots Incubator Fund – cost of research report, meeting expenses, accessibility support and support from Inclusion London |
£3,852.96 | £0 | £0 |
| Fee for support with Charity Registration | £500 | £0 | £0 |
| Building Stronger Community Fund Hidden Voices Project – for help with public advocacy training for disabled people, events and meetings and promoting events |
£5,786.32 | £1,909.15 | £1,270.00 |
| Total Expenditure | £10,139.28 | £1,909.15 | £1,270.00 |
| Net | £5,990.72 | -£1,909.15 | -£1,135.00 |
| Money carried forward from last year: | £0 | £5,990.72 | £3,081.57 |
| Adjustment to GLA grant final instalment not being paid to RUF: |
£0 | -£1,000.00 | £0 |
| Money carried forward to next year: | £5,990.72 | £3,081.57 | £1,946.57 |
During 2024 we were able to open our own bank account with the Cooperative Bank. On the 12th March 2025, once our trustees were confident that they could access and operate the online banking, One Newham transferred to RUF the balance of funds they were holding for us of £2,763,63. We are grateful to One Newham for their help, supporting RUF through the first couple of years of our journey.
Contact us
Phone or WhatsApp: 07904 285020
Our website www.ruf.org.uk/ Our email address ruf123.info@gmail.com Our Address c/o One Newham, Community Links 105 BARKING ROAD, LONDON, E16 4HQ
These accounts and report were approved at our AGM on 26th February 2026.