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Difference Yearly Report 2025-2026

Insight Impact Disability History Month

Article Summary

Welcome to Difference’s Yearly Report.

Difference thanks our funders, the National Lottery and their Reaching Communities Fund for funding our Driving Difference project, Heritage Lottery Fund for funding our Disability History: Past, Present and Future project and Millfield House Foundation for funding our policy work. This is a report which shows some examples of how we have been using the funding. It shows some of the impact we are having in our communities. We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we have enjoyed doing it

July 2025

  • We started a new meeting called Our Voice, Our Agenda. This was for organisations like us in our region. We did not like the meeting called Regional Stakeholder Network which was set up by the government because we did not think they listen to disabled people properly.
  • We trained people in Stockton on Tees from an organisation called Catalyst, about making disabled people more equal and making sure they are included in things.
  • We were asked by Tees Valley Combined Authority to let them know what difficulties disabled people experience when travelling [this is called ‘consultation’]. We told them the things that disabled people had told us about what makes travelling difficult.
  • We had a new worker called Charlotte Hall who started work as a policy officer. She works to make sure that other organisations listen to what disabled people tell them. The money for her wages came from another charity called Millfield House Foundation [thank you to them].

July 2025 in pictures

Our year in picture starts here, with the appointment of Charlotte. She is going to make us better at influencing policies made by other organisations to make sure disabled people are included.

Screenshot of Difference North East social media post announcing Charlotte Hall as the charity's new policy officer.
Social media post promoting the appointment of Difference’s new policy officer.
Read the text in this image

Meet Charlotte Hall — Difference Policy Officer. Meet Charlotte Hall, our new Policy Officer! We are thrilled to have you join the Difference team, Charlotte! 🎉🙌 Charlotte brings fantastic experience fighting for fairer systems and campaigning for change driven by real disabled people’s lives. She’s deeply committed to disabled people leading policy change, from local issues to national reform. And her energy is perfect: “Let’s crack on!” 💪 Thanks to Millfield House Foundation, Charlotte’s role boosts our power to create change! She’ll focus on: Listening to how policies affect YOU in the NE. Getting YOUR voices heard by decision-makers. Making our campaigns hit harder. This is YOUR community driving change. 😊 Join us: 👉 Disabled people in the NE: Become a member! Share your voice & shape our future. 👉 Allies: Stand with us! Learn, amplify, support. [Links in bio]

Welcome Charlotte Hall: Joining Our Fight for Disability Justice in the North East!
#DifferenceNE #DisabilityJustice #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs #NorthEast #CommunityPower #PolicyChange #WelcomeCharlotte #MillfieldHouseFdn 50 w 29 likes 30 July 2025

Read the Instagram post about Charlotte Hall joining Difference

We were also already well underway with our Claiming the Normal photo shoot project.

Photograph from the Claiming the Normal project: a disabled model sits on a wooden bench in a leafy park, wearing glasses, a bright pink cardigan over a dark patterned dress, with a blue rollator beside him.
Photograph from the Claiming the Normal photo project.
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Find out more about Kev Howard and the Claiming the Normal project

August

  • In Teesside we talked to people who could not eat a type of food called wheat. We wrote a blog about it and put it on our website. It was very popular and more than 300 people read it.
  • We started a group called Disabled Climate Action Forum [DCAF for short]. We felt disabled people needed a place to talk about how we can save the planet. We also started recording how much carbon dioxide we produced during our work.
  • We talked to our patron, called Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson. She is an independent member of the House of Lords, which is part of Parliament. She helps to check proposed laws and challenge the government. We help her by letting her know what disabled people in the North East think about things. She then tells other people in the House of Lords and that way people in the North East can have they say. This is the reason why we answered so many consultations, so disabled people from here have a say in our laws.

August in pictures

In August our members were campaigning for a fairer benefit system.

Screenshot of Difference North East social media post about the Ramping Up Rights event at a bookshop.
Social media post promoting the Ramping Up Rights event.
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differencenortheast and 3 others. Stockton-on-Tees Libraries. Ramping Up Rights. In Teesside, we turned grief into action, & action into power! At our Ramping Up Rights book night with @drakethebookshop & @rachelcdailey We celebrated the community-led pressure that made the government back down on cuts. This is not to say we got everything we demanded! Of course! But when have we?! We honoured Jodey Whiting and stood with her mother, Joy Dove, in her fight for justice. We shared laughter, rage, and strategies — and reminded each other that disabled history is disabled power. As Claire from Difference NE said: “The direct action of people in this room helped stop the cuts. We are the force.” But our fight isn’t over. While we gathered, Stockton North’s MP @chrismcdonaldmp voted to cut support again. Read the book that ignites the fight: Ramping Up Rights by @rachelcdailey Join us! free, disabled-led, and fighting back together.

Ramping Up Rights: Disability Power in Teesside
15 July 2025

Read the Instagram post about our August benefits campaign

And here’s another one of our models.

Photograph from the Claiming the Normal project: a bald man with glasses, wearing a dark blue shirt and a lanyard, sits at a table with a blue mug, smiling and resting his head on one hand.
Photograph from the Claiming the Normal photo project.
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Find out more about the Claiming the Normal photo project

September

  • A business called Alnwick Estates and a computer business in Stockton on Tees called One Touch gave us £400 to pay for sign language translation.
  • We were nominated for a prize for making things more equal for people. The nomination was for the ‘Social Impact Business of the Year Award’ at the Tees Valley Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) awards. Someone from that organisation said. “Your commitment to advancing diversity, inclusion, and equity in our region has been recognised among the very best, and we are thrilled to celebrate your achievements.”
  • We started campaigning for disabled people to be able to use their bus passes at any time of day. In many parts of the North East, disabled people cannot use their passes before 9.30am. This can make it difficult to travel to work, education or early appointments. Mary Kelly Foy MP told us she supported our campaign.
  • We wrote a newsletter and sent it to our members. This let them know what we had been doing in the last couple of months.

September in pictures

In September we campaigned against the government’s proposed cut to services for people with coeliac disease.

Screenshot of Difference North East campaign graphic about NHS proposals to cut gluten-free prescriptions.
Campaign graphic opposing cuts to gluten-free prescriptions for people with coeliac disease.
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A Postcode Shouldn’t Dictate Your Health

The NHS proposed cutting gluten-free prescriptions for 4,700 people in the region.

Gluten-free food costs four times as much — this is an economic barrier.

Camapaign graphic about celiac disease

differencenortheast. North East England. No one should have to eat food that makes them sick or go without staples everyone else can enjoy. For our member, Sylvia, 82, the choice a loaf of bread is increasingly a tough one. For parents of coeliac children, there’s a 400% increase in the price of these food staples. In the NE, the NHS board plans are threatening what is a lifeline to many of them. Our new blog lays bare the actual cost of gluten-free living and how a group of people fought to have their voices heard. It’s not about prescriptions. It’s about justice, barriers, and access to safe food without going broke. Want to assist in ensuring everyone receives a fair amount? ➡️Sign up as a member and become one of our changemakers. ➡️Share your personal story with us. Your voice is what makes our work possible. ➡️Become an ally and support our cause. Follow the link in our bio to all our blogs, read the full article, and find out how you can get involved. https://differencenortheast.org.uk/how-a-proposed-nhs-change-shows-the-true-cost-of-gluten-free-living/ #Celiac #Coeliac #GlutenFree #NHS #HealthInequality #DisabilityRights #NorthEastUK #DifferenceNorthEast 17 September 2025

Read our blog: Is coeliac disease classed as a disability?

We were also campaigning for all day free bus passes for disabled people.

Screenshot of Difference North East social media post about the government's response to the all-day bus pass campaign.
Social media post promoting the campaign for all-day bus passes for disabled people.
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Minister Responds: The Fight for All-Day Bus Access Continues

The government says local authorities must act on disabled bus pass time limits.

We’ve received a response from the Minister for Roads and Buses about our campaign for All Day Access to concessionary bus travel. The key takeaway? The government acknowledges this is an issue but says it’s up to LOCAL authorities to fix it. Here’s what matters: ✅Local authorities already HAVE the power to extend travel times ✅78% of authorities already offer some extension beyond 9:30am ✅The North East has £23.7 million available for bus improvements This actually STRENGTHENS our local campaign! We now have confirmation that change is possible at the local level. Help us pressure the North East Combined Authority to use their powers and funding to implement All Day Access. 👉 Share your travel story (link in bio) 👉 Read the blog https://differencenortheast.org.uk/minister-responds-the-fight-for-all-day-bus-access-continues/ 👉Tag your local councillors 👉Join our as a member or ally www.differencenortheast.org.uk/take-action #AllDayAccess #TooLateToBeFair #DisabilityRights #TransportJustice #NorthEast #LocalCampaign #Accessibility #PublicTransport #DifferenceNE 50 w 24 September 2025

Find out more about our Getting from A to B accessible transport campaign

October

  • We asked an organisation called Stay Safe East in London to give us training about disabled people and domestic violence. In return, we gave them our training called disability equality, that was about making things better for disabled people.
  • We got into the finals of the Tees Valley Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) award

October in pictures

In October we started our own regional voice group, because the existing one set up by the government was only made for the government.

Screenshot of Difference North East social media post launching the Our Voice, Our Agenda regional voice group.
Social media post promoting the launch of Our Voice, Our Agenda.
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Our Voice, Our Agenda — Breaking Barriers, Together

Your Voice. Your Experience. Your Change.

Disabled people: register for the next meeting.

[Illustration: Angel of the north]

Our Voice, Our Agenda is a space for disabled people across the North East to share experiences, talk about what matters, and push for real change. Each meeting focuses on issues chosen by disabled people, the last one explored employment barriers, the next could be anything you want to raise. Meetings run every two months, open, informal, and led by lived experience. Register now: https://differencenortheast.org.uk/event/our-voice-our-agenda-december-2025 Read a summary of the last session here

Our Voice Our Agenda: Employment Barriers for Disabled People in the North East – Key Issues and Next Steps
#OurVoiceOurAgenda #DisabilityCommunity #DisabilityRights #DifferenceNorthEast #Accessibility #Inclusion #DisabledVoices #CoProduction

Read the Instagram post about launching Our Voice, Our Agenda

We started getting ready for Disability History Month.

Screenshot of Difference North East social media post marking 30 years since the Disability Discrimination Act, overlaid on a photo of disabled protesters.
Social media post marking 30 years since the Disability Discrimination Act and the launch of Disability History Month.
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30 Years Since the Disability Discrimination Act

[Insagram screen shot of Stylised grasphic: disabled protesters holding banners reading “THESE CUTS WILL KILL”. and searies of dates]

Disability History Month 2025! 30 years since the Disability Discrimination Act! We’re not just looking back. We’re creating and taking action. Theatre. Photography. Zines. Learning. All led by disabled people, for our community & allies. Join Difference North East from Nov 15 – Dec 20 for a celebration of creativity, activism, and history. History isn’t finished. You’re making it every day.

Join Us for Disability History Month 2025
#DisabilityHistoryMonth #DisabilityCulture #DisabledAndProud #DisabilityRights #DifferenceNorthEast #InclusionMatters #DDA30 47 w 20 October 2025

Read about the Disability Discrimination Act and the launch of Disability History Month

November

  • November is an important month for us because it is the beginning of Disability History Month. It is a month to celebrate disabled people and their achievements. This year we launched it with a local theatre called Alphabetti.
  • We sent the results of our conversations with disabled people who were allergic to wheat to the NHS. We did that because NHS were asking people what they thought so they could improve their own service.
  • We also gave more feedback to Tees Valley Combined Authority about how to involve disabled people in ‘active travel’, which means not travelling by vehicle. Because of this they made videos showing how people could access their organisations.
  • We wrote to the North East Mayor, Kim McGuinness, asking her to remove all time restrictions on disabled people’s bus passes. She replied to say that she would look at our proposal.
  • We were asked by North East Mayoral Strategic Authority to help them work out the best ways to help disabled people into work.
  • We wrote a newsletter and sent it to our members. This let them know what we had been doing in the last couple of months.

November in pictures

In November, we put on our Claiming the Normal exhibition and showed normal disabled people doing normal things.

Screenshot of Difference North East social media post promoting the Claiming the Normal photography exhibition at Newcastle Central Library.
Social media post promoting the Claiming the Normal photography exhibition.
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Claiming the Normal — photography exhibition by Kev Howard.

Newcastle Central Library, 17 to 29 November.

[The post is shown against a wall of the exhibited portraits.]

Step inside Claiming the Normal – a powerful photography exhibition by Kev Howard celebrating the everyday lives of disabled people. From work and hobbies to ordinary moments, these portraits challenge stereotypes and show the reality of disabled lives, honest, vibrant, and unfiltered. Visit the exhibition: Newcastle Central Library Join Difference North East as a member or ally to support authentic representation! 🔗 Learn more: https://differencenortheast.org.uk/claiming-the-normal-kev-howard

Read the Instagram post about our Claiming the Normal exhibition

December

  • As part of Disability History Month, we put on a big display in Newcastle library to show pictures of disabled people doing normal things. We called it Claiming The Normal. 750 people walked past the display in that month. We asked a disabled photographer to take these pictures. We think they’re great.
  • We gave lunchtime talks on well-known disabled people, like Mary Greaves from Whitley Bay, and the social model of disability [this is a better way to understand the experiences of disabled people living in the world today].
  • We set up a group of eight disabled people to advise us about how best to help disabled people get a job. This group helped us in our work with the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority. We met every month until April next year. It was great!
  • The children at King James I Academy in County Durham donated £800 to us. They chose us out of other charities. Thank you so much

December in pictures

We celebrated Disability History Month with our partners at Drake’s book shop in Stockton on Tees. We gave out books on disability rights for free that had been paid for by our members.

Screenshot of social media post about disability books donated for Disability History Month.
Social media post promoting the donation of disability books to schools and community groups for Disability History Month.
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Screenshot of an Instagram post: a woman with long dark hair, wearing a green top, smiling as she holds a stack of books with red and yellow spines, including The Anti-ableist Manifesto.]

These books celebrate disabled stories and will be donated to schools and community groups for Disability History Month.

diversability’s profile picture imtiffanyyu’s profile picture imtiffanyyu and 3 others DRAKE – The Bookshop imtiffanyyu’s profile picture imtiffanyyu 40 w Share the gift of disabled stories, voices & joy with schools & community 🎁 It’s Disability History Month in the UK (Nov 20–Dec 20), and @differencenortheast is partnering with @drakethebookshop to donate books that celebrate being disabled to schools & community groups across north east UK. 📚 The curated list features disabled authors like @lucywebsterjournalist, @rachelcdailey, @shaydakafai, @theheumannperspective, @disability_visibility, and more, including The Anti-Ableist Manifesto. 🧡 Here’s how you can help (UK 🇬🇧 friends especially!): 1️⃣ Choose a book from the curated list (https://www.drakethebookshop.co.uk/product-category/books-beat-eggs/ – 🔗 in bio) 2️⃣ Select “Collect from shop” at checkout 3️⃣ @differencenortheast will pick up all donated books at the end of the campaign and distribute them locally 🌍 Not in the UK but still want to support? Email: books@drakethebookshop.co.uk In January 2026, the team will share exactly how many books were donated and where they went. Every book donated = a story shared, a perspective amplified, and a voice celebrated. 🎉 #Nourished25 #AntiAbleistBook #DisabilityHistoryMonth #OwnVoices #DisabilityPride Image descriptions: 1. Tiffany holding a stack of the UK version of The Anti-Ableist Manifesto. 2. Screenshot of @rachelcdailey’s Instagram post with a photo of the window display at DRAKE with the text, “Here’s how you can help get books that celebrate being disabled into the north east community this Disability Pride Month.”

Read the Instagram post about our Disability History Month event at Drake’s bookshop

We also chilled with our members, but talking about nice things, like like what would it be like to live in an equal world.

Screenshot of Difference North East social media post about the Imagining Accessible Futures members' workshop at Northern Stage, Newcastle.
Social media post promoting the members’ social meet-up, Imagining Accessible Futures.
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Imagining Accessible Futures — a members’ workshop at Northern Stage, Newcastle.

A relaxed creative session exploring what the world would look like if everyone’s access needs were met.

Imagining Accessible Futures! Northern Stage Newcastle December 10th @ 12:30 pm – 2:30 pm A Creative Workshop. What could the world look like if everyone’s access needs were met? If our homes, streets, and workplaces truly worked for all of us, what would we be doing, creating, and celebrating together? Join us for a relaxed, creative session where you’ll explore the future you want to build. You don’t need any artistic experience, just your imagination and your ideas. Through simple, low-pressure creative activities, you’ll look ahead to the next year and gather your thoughts on what matters most to your community. register now! https://differencenortheast.org.uk/event/imagining-accessible-futures-northern-stage/

Read the Instagram post about our members’ social meet-up

January

  • We were in the newspapers talking about the experiences of disabled people on benefits.
  • We started researching why so many disabled people used foodbanks.
  • We released a big report called Access to the Every Day. This report contains the voices of our members and disabled people across the region explaining what life is like for disabled people. We met with groups of disabled people all through the region and asked them these questions: What makes things easy for you? What makes things hard for you? And what does a good life look like for you? After talking to 100 disabled people, we wrote the report.

January in pictures

We were so busy in January and did lots of consulting, researching and campaigning. First we released our access the every day report.

Front cover of the Access to the Everyday report.
Front cover of the Access to the Everyday report.
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Access to the Everyday [report cover].

Access to the Everyday. Disabled peoples expereinces of life in the north east of england. Difference North East 20206

Read the Access to the Everyday report 2026

We were still on it about bus travel.

Campaign graphic titled Building Momentum for Fair Travel: MP & Mayor Support & Voices from Our Community. It shows a photo of a woman and states that Mary Kelly Foy MP has backed the campaign to remove time limits on disabled bus passes.

Read the Instagram post about our all-day bus pass campaign

February

  • We told the government what our members thought of their Access To Work scheme. This was for a consultation they were doing.
  • We put our big report on the website in lots of different formats.
  • We wrote a newsletter and sent it to our members. This let them know what we had been doing in the last couple of months.

February in pictures

In February, we gathered evidence from disabled people across the North East and responded to the Public Accounts Committee’s inquiry into the Access to Work scheme.

Screenshot of Difference North East social media post about our response to the Public Accounts Committee inquiry into Access to Work.
Social media post promoting our response to the Public Accounts Committee inquiry into Access to Work.
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[Graphic about our response to the Public Accounts Committee inquiry into Access to Work.]

[“Access to Work” is meant to be a lifeline. For many disabled people across the North East, it should open doors to employment, keep us in our jobs, and help us thrive at work. If you have ever waited months for support, had your funding cut without warning, or struggled to get the help you need, this is your chance to speak up. Difference NE is gathering real stories from people like you to submit evidence to the government’s Access to Work enquiry. Your voice matters and can make a difference. Fill in before Thursday! Make sure your voice is included! https://differencenortheast.org.uk/we-want-to-hear-your-access-to-work-story/]

Read the Instagram post about our Access to Work inquiry response

We also had another photography project on the go, showing disabled people at work.

A man with short grey hair, wearing earphones and a grey vest over a pink shirt, sits at a desk working on a laptop in an office setting.

Find out more about building inclusive workplaces

March

  • We told the police in Cleveland about how disabled people felt about when other people hated on them. They were making a plan about hate crime.
  • We did a lot of talking about the experiences of different types of disabled people for some consultations. We talked about disabled women, deaf people, and disabled people from different cultural groups.
  • We worked with somebody who was good at drawing and making cartoons. She made 6 examples of disabled people who were looking for work to show the North East Mayoral strategic authority.

March in pictures

Illustration of a disabled jobseeker, one of six created for the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority.
Illustration of a disabled jobseeker, one of six made for the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority.
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This image contains no text.

Find out more about our inclusive workplaces work

April

  • We worked with Beacon Films and they made films for us about disabled people in work.
  • We put all the reports and films we did with the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority on our website. In March, the first of our personas came to life.

April in pictures

In April our films about access to employment were ready.

Still from a Difference North East film about disabled people's access to employment, showing a man being interviewed alongside a British Sign Language interpreter.
Still from our film about disabled people’s access to employment.
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[A man in a grey hooded top with a pink stripe sits at a table being interviewed, while a British Sign Language interpreter signs beside him.]

On-screen captions read: “…and encouraged us to apply.”

[No other in image text]

Find out more about our films on access to employment

May

  • We gave training to a school about why they need to know about the social model of disability for those students. They want us to work with their students next year.
  • We talked to television companies about how to show disabled people in more realistic ways.
  • We wrote a newsletter and sent it to our members. This let them know what we had been doing in the last couple of months.

May in pictures

In May we were still shouting about the welfare reforms, this time we asked disabled young people about their experiences of being on benefits.

Screenshot of Difference North East campaign graphic about disabled young people's experiences of Personal Independence Payment assessments.
Campaign graphic sharing disabled young people’s experiences of benefits.
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What we are hearing… Young people’s experiences

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment calls are overwhelming and often off-target.

Young people: share your experiences for the Timms Review.

[What we are hearing about young people and PIP… Assessment calls are coming up a lot. People are describing them as overwhelming, questions that don’t map onto what their day actually looks like, and no space to explain what burnout or overwhelm does to them between one moment and the next. Does that sound familiar? Or does your experience look different? The government is currently reviewing PIP. We’re putting together a submission — and what you’ve been through in that process is exactly what needs to be in it. If you’ve claimed PIP, or tried to: fill in the form. Link in bio. It’s short and can be anonymous. If you know a young person who’s been through this, or you’ve supported someone through it professionally: please share this post. Their experience matters too. Save this if today isn’t the day. We’ll keep the form open. https://differencenortheast.org.uk/share-your-pip-experience-timms-review/]

Read the Instagram post about disabled young people’s experiences of benefits

In May we were hearing from lived experience experts helping to keep disability heritage live.

Screenshot of Difference North East social media post about lived experience experts helping to keep disability heritage alive.
Social media post about our lived experience experts and disability heritage.
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Lived experience experts helping to keep disability heritage alive.

[We’re hiring a Disabled researcher in the North East. Disability history here has never been properly recorded. We want to change that before it’s gone. £275/day · 10 days per year · 2026 & 2027 You don’t need a PhD. You need to care about this history and know how to find things. Deadline: midday 1 July 2026. Link in bio to apply. Share this with someone who should see it. 👇 https://differencenortheast.org.uk/researcher-callout-researcher-disability-living-library-archive/]

Read the Instagram post about our lived experience experts and disability heritage

June

  • We started a campaign called day in the life. This is about showing people what disabled people get up to every day.
  • We used what disabled people had told us about work to respond to a parliamentary consultation about flexible working and disability.
  • We talked to a TV production company about how to look after disabled people on reality TV.

June in pictures

In June there was lots of very strong feelings about what happens to disabled people when their electricity got cut off.

Screenshot of Difference North East campaign graphic about disabled people's experiences of power cuts.
Campaign graphic promoting a talk on disabled people’s experiences of power cuts.
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When the power goes out, who gets forgotten?

If you’re Disabled, you probably already know.

Join Dr Danielle Johnson to talk about disabled people’s experiences of power cuts.

[Illustration: a person with a torch in a dark, snowy street.]

[When the power goes out, disabled people are often the first to feel it and the last to be thought of. On 17 June at 4pm we’re joined at DCAF by Dr. Danielle Johnson, a researcher at Durham University looking at what actually happens to disabled people when extreme weather knocks out the grid. Whose equipment fails. Whose medication spoils. Who nobody checks on. She knows the picture isn’t good. What she needs is what we know from lived experience. She’s coming to listen, and she’s agreed to credit DCAF members’ contributions in her published research. We’ll hear a bit from Danielle, then the floor is yours. Free to come along Online via Zoom Camera off is fine the whole time Can’t make it live? Register and we’ll send you the recording Live captions. BSL on request. Not a member yet? It’s free to join and there’s no strings attached. Link to event and to join in bio.

When the power goes out, who gets forgotten? Disabled Climate Action Forum: June Meeting
]

Read the Instagram post about disabled people and electricity disconnection

We shared with our members what happens after they’ve talked to us about things close to their heart.

Screenshot of Difference North East social media post explaining what happens after members share their experiences.
Social media post explaining what happens after members share their experiences with Difference.
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So, you’ve been asked to share your story again

[Illustration: a large purple megaphone.]

[So, you’ve been asked to share your story again… 📣 We know it takes time. We know it can come with a personal cost. And we think you deserve to know what happens after you do it. Our Policy Manager Charlotte has written about exactly that, from reading every single response, to weaving your words into our submission to the Timms Review of PIP. Your experiences shape everything we campaign for. They make our work possible, and more powerful. Link in bio to read the full post. 💜 differencenortheast.org.uk/so-youve-been-asked-to-share-your-story-again/]

Read the Instagram post about what happens after members talk to us

July

We made sure that our work did not harm the environment. We worked out how much carbon dioxide we produced and then we paid for improvements to be made for council houses in the North East to make them more energy efficient. This made sure as a result of our work we saved more carbon than we produced, making us ‘climate positive’.

July 2026 in pictures

We started gearing up our campaign to increase the amount of Wheelchair Accessible Taxis.

Screenshot of Difference North East campaign graphic calling for more wheelchair accessible taxis.
Campaign graphic calling for more wheelchair accessible taxis.
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[Wheelchair-accessible taxis and PHVs in the North East North East picture 6% [icon of 100 squares with 6 highlighted] In the North East, just 810 of 13,386 licensed taxis and private hire vehicles are wheelchair accessible: 6%, compared with 11.5% across England in 2024. These figures show how many vehicles are licensed, not whether a disabled person can book one when they need to travel… “I’ve watched a driver clock my wheelchair, and then the screen says ‘finding you a new driver’.” “The driver took one look at my guide dog, said ‘Sorry, I can’t’, and drove off.” How local areas compare One licensed wheelchair-accessible vehicle (WAV) for every… Area Residents per WAV Hartlepool 2,628 residents Redcar and Cleveland 1,323 residents Stockton-on-Tees 882 residents Darlington 834 residents Gateshead 682 residents Middlesbrough 480 residents County Durham 475 residents South Tyneside 327 residents NORTH EAST OVERALL 323 residents Northumberland 276 residents North Tyneside 243 residents Sunderland 203 residents Newcastle 124 residents Residents = those whose day-to-day activities were limited a lot (Census 2021). This table shows differences between areas, not whether vehicles are available when needed. What needs to change The Transport Committee has set out recommendations to improve taxi and PHV accessibility. Proposed legislation offers an opportunity to establish them as consistent national standards. Accessibility recommendations we support [13] Better training (icon of people) Mandatory, high-quality disability awareness and equality training for drivers and operators, with refreshers and effective enforcement. [14] [15] More accessible vehicles (icon of a taxi) A national WAV plan with a single fleet requirement, published provision, incentives – including in rural areas – and funding for drivers. [16] More ways to book (icon of a hand holding a phone) A range of digital and non-digital ways to find and book services. [17] One route for complaints (icon of speech bubbles) A single, digitally inclusive national complaints and incident-reporting portal. There is no nationally required minimum proportion of WAVs. Recommendation 14 calls on the Government to set one and require authorities to report progress. Footer Sources and method: WAV figures supplied by 12 North East local authorities through FOI responses in 2026. North East totals are sums of authority figures. Local ratios were calculated using ONS Census 2021 table TS038, “Disabled under the Equality Act: day-to-day activities limited a lot,” divided by licensed WAVs and rounded to the nearest whole number. England comparison: DFT Taxi and PHV Statistics 2024 (revised). Recommendations: Transport Committee. Raising the standard, June 2026. Quotes: Difference North East members, 2025. www.differencenortheast.org.uk info@differencenortheast.org.uk [Difference logo with tagline: Nothing about us without us] ]

The new Prime Minister brought new future possibilities.

Screenshot of Difference North East social media post calling on the new Prime Minister to extend all-day bus passes for disabled people.
Social media post calling on the new Prime Minister to extend all-day bus passes for disabled people.
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Dear Prime Minister…

Disabled people in Greater Manchester can use their bus passes all day. Extend this to the rest of the country.

[The post is overlaid on a stylised image of Andy Burnham.]

[Andy Burnham once called disabled people’s bus passes “one of the things I’m proudest of” as Mayor of Greater Manchester. Now he’s Prime Minister, and we think it’s time that pride went further than one city region. As Mayor, Andy scrapped time restrictions on disabled people’s concessionary bus passes, making it easier to get to work, education, healthcare, and everyday life. The powers to do the same already exist across the country. The North East Mayor @ne_mayoralstrategicauthority is listening. Tees Valley @teesvalley_ca hasn’t responded yet. We’ve written an open letter asking the new PM to champion this change everywhere, not just where he used to be Mayor. Read it and share this if you think every disabled person in England deserves what Greater Manchester already has. As always: All links in bio. differencenortheast.org.uk/andy-burnham-free-bus-pass ]

Read the Instagram post about the new Prime Minister

What we have learned this year

  • We started making sure that everything that we say or write down needs to be understandable to everybody. We realised that we needed to get better, especially when working with deaf people. This means having British Sign Language (BSL) translation for everything we do.
  • We started thinking about working in a ‘trauma informed way’ with our members and our staff. This means really taking care of people and making sure they are okay to do work or join in. Sometimes this work can really affect people personally and we need to take care that it does not cause extra problems.
  • We learned how to become carbon positive. This means not only making sure our work produces no more carbon than it removes, but actively helping to remove carbon by improving social housing with insulation and green energy.

We are carbon positive

Well that’s it folks. Thank you for reading and being interested. If you want to start a conversation, please write us an email at hello@differencenortheast.org.uk

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