City Hall Roundtables:

Lived Experience of the Welfare System

On Monday 16 March, we hosted a roundtable at London’s City Hall, bringing together Disabled people and unpaid carers to share their lived experiences of the welfare system.

This session forms part of our ongoing welfare reform project, funded by Trust for London, which aims to listen to the voices of disabled people, as well as unpaid carers, to build ideas for how we can improve the system.

The roundtable created a space for an open and honest discussion, with participants sharing their experiences of navigating the welfare system, including the challenges, barriers, and impact on their daily lives. Our conversations explored access to support, experiences of assessments, and what meaningful reform could look like in practice.

The session was kindly hosted by Assembly Members Emma Best and Hina Bokhari, who we had worked with on our 2023 report ‘How to make London an accessible city for all’.

We are incredibly grateful to everyone who took part and shared their experiences with us.

If you weren’t able join us, there is still time to support our research through our surveys for disabled people and unpaid carers.

We look forward to updating you all on the next stages of our research.

From left to right Arun, Emma, Hina, Chloe and Cara stand beside each other at City Hall, smiling for a photo. They are standing next to a Disability Policy Centre banner in the middle of them.
Arun stands beside a Disability Policy Centre banner at City Hall, wearing a white jumper, addressing attendees during a roundtable discussion in a modern meeting room with participants seated nearby.
Hina stands speaking at the front of a City Hall room, wearing a blue outfit and scarf, holding papers. A Disability Policy Centre banner stands behind her during the roundtable event session.
Emma stands speaking at a City Hall roundtable. She has blonde hair and wears a beige jumper, holding notes. Hina, wearing blue, sits beside her listening. A Disability Policy Centre banner stands behind.
Chloe stands speaking at the front of a City Hall room, wearing a black turtle next jumper and checkered skirt. A Disability Policy Centre banner stands behind her during the roundtable event session.
Josh stands speaking at the front of a City Hall room, wearing a grey suit with a red tie, he gesturing to the room and holding papers in one hand. Chloe stands beside him smiling to the right. A Disability Policy Centre banner stand to the left.
Emma stands beside Hina at City Hall, smiling for a photo. She has blonde hair and wears a beige jumper. Hina wears blue. They stand next to a Disability Policy Centre banner.
Emma stands speaking at a City Hall roundtable. She has blonde hair and wears a beige jumper, holding notes. Hina, wearing blue, sits beside her listening. A Disability Policy Centre banner stands behind.