Dr Clenton Farquharson CBE

Happy Christmas everyone, and all the very best for 2026.
Grateful for what we’ve shared this year, and hopeful for what’s ahead.
See you on the other side,rested, renewed, and ready for what comes next.

ADASS President Jess McGregor is joined by @blimeysimon.bsky.social , @clentonf.bsky.social, and Freya Viles from Wiltshire Centre for Independent Living for a session on reframing social care and why stories matter. #ncasc25

Enjoying the start of my first #NCASC - @clentonf.bsky.social demonstrating his usual way with words as he argues for storytelling to engage people with social care saying “stories move people, spreadsheets don’t”

#ncasc25 day 2!

What does a Fair Pay Agreement mean for adult social care? Panellists include Tandra Forster, Chair of the ADASS National Commissioning Network and @clentonf.bsky.social.

#FairPayAgreement #Workforce #adultsocialcare

Personal Health Budgets (PHB) change people’s lives & offer value for ££. New @commcats.bsky.social report packed with people's stories 👇 @tlap.bsky.social @martinwalkersds.bsky.social @juestanny.bsky.social @mroutled.bsky.social @clentonf.bsky.social www.communitycatalysts.co.uk/publications...

Racist responses to disability hate crime campaign signal ‘deeply worrying’ trend Campaigners calling for government action on disability hate crime were horrified when their posts on social media led to a string of racist and disablist responses, some of them from disabled peop…

Powerful response to Thursday's story on disability hate crime and racism from @clentonf.bsky.social
bit.ly/4mZOumv
He says: 'Racist and disablist abuse against Inclusion London’s hate crime campaign is a wake up call.'
@inclusionlondon.bsky.social
www.disabilitynewsservice.com/racist-respo...

As much as we say we do

If there are two things you can get everyone in social care to agree on, it’s that coproduction is a good thing in theory, and that it’s hard in practice. The first part of that seems self-evident: social care involves putting people who seek help and people who offer help…

Still unsure about hope? I was too.
Then I learned:
– It’s not soft. It’s a muscle.
– It moves with pain, not around it.
– It doesn’t wait. It works.
Hope means believing tomorrow can be better if we make it so.
#HopeIsADiscipline #CareIsResistance #DisabilityJustice

Tom Shakespeare sitting behind a desk in front of an audience

@tomshakespeare.bsky.social #keynote

"If we really thought disabled people were people, we would organise the world very differently."

#TCC2025

This isn’t about budgets. It’s about belonging.
Not timelines truth.
Dignity isn’t negotiable.
Tell your MP: We need a system that protects everyone not just the lucky few.
This isn’t a climbdown. It’s a climb-over.
Red tape or belonging?
Fairness for all?
#DisabilityRights #PIP P5

If this is a concession, it’s one only a spreadsheet could love.
Same need, different treatment?
That’s not fairness. That’s failure.
It’s like handing out lifejackets after the flood, or refusing to fight a fire because it started too early.
That’s what this feels like.
#PIP #DisabilityRights P4

The government says it’s backing down.
But really, they’re backing away.
From fairness. From responsibility. From the truth.
This isn’t a fix. It’s a fudge.
A cut dressed up as a concession.
A press release pretending to be protection.
A system where timing matters more than need. P3

Support should be based on what you live with not when you applied.
But this policy says: “Wrong date? No help.”
That’s not protection. That’s exclusion.
3.7M get PIP.
Only 1.5M are protected.
1.3M on DLA many with lifetime awards get nothing.
3.5M still at risk.
#DisabilityJustice #PIP P2

Not a Concession. A Cut.
3.5 million disabled people are still being left out. Here's what the PIP “climbdown” really means and why we must not be fooled.
#DisabilityJustice #PIP #SocialCare P1

Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: GOLTC webinar: Social Care Reform in England: taking stock and setting the agenda . After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining ... Join us for the first webinar of the Social Care Reform in England interest group, with an analysis of the current state of social care in England, what can we learn from the history of social care re...

📢 Webinar

Join us 9 July:

#SocialCare Reform in England: taking stock and setting the agenda 🪏

With
@blimeysimon.bsky.social @natashacurry.bsky.social
@richardhumphries.bsky.social
@clentonf.bsky.social

🔗 lse.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

Everyday phrases can carry the weight of history. Some uplift, some exclude.

If we want co-production and care and support that includes everyone, we need to talk about language.

Read @clentonf.bsky.social‬'s latest blog bit.ly/4liL1hU

Government’s welfare plans must be pushed through, Starmer says PM voices determination to press ahead with bill despite threat of Labour revolt over disability benefit cuts

The PM says welfare “must be pushed through.” But for 1.3m Disabled people, this isn’t reform its removal. PIP isn’t a bonus. It’s a lifeline. Cuts dressed as reform are still cuts. We need justice, not judgement. Dignity, not denial.
#DisabilityJustice #PIP #LivedExperience

To Victor: thank you for standing in that pain and still choosing to lead.
To all of us: this is our moment.
Not charity, solidarity.
Not a patch but a rebuild.
Because when care is unequal, it isn’t care.
And when we fix that, everyone benefits. P5
#BuildTheWorldWeNeed

We’re not fighting for colour-blind care.
We’re fighting for justice driven care.
Where every diagnosis, every intervention, every death reflects equal worth and human dignity.
No second class care no matter the skin you're in. P4
#AntiRacistLeadership

I be clear: this isn’t inevitable.
We built these systems.
We can rebuild them.
What changes minds and moves mountains isn’t more data it’s courageous truth telling, lived experience, and leaders willing to say: this is not OK, and this will change. P3
#HealthJustice

Too many Black families aren’t just mourning loss they’re mourning injustice.
Misdiagnosed. Ignored. Disbelieved.
That’s not a glitch. It’s a feature of structural racism.
And racism in healthcare doesn’t just hurt feelings it ends lives. P2
#RaceAndHealth

Senior health figure accuses NHS of racism over care given to dying mother Victor Adebowale says failure to detect his mother’s cancer was example of ‘black service, not NHS service’

My mum got a Black service, not an NHS service.
These words from Lord Victor Adebowale are not just personal they are political. Powerful. Painfully familiar.
This isn’t one case. It’s a pattern. A system. A truth we must name to change. p1
#TruthToPower #NHS#TruthToPower #BuildTheWorldWeNeed

Changing it Up Podcast · Community Catalysts · In our new podcast series 'Changing it up', hosts Nick Sinclair and Clenton Farquharson chat with people from across the country who have dedicated their lives to chang...

@clentonf.bsky.social and @nicksinclair.bsky.social are back and have relaunched the Changing It Up podcast! First guest is Isaac Samuels, who reflects on Equipment Matters, exploring all things community equipment and coproduction @angelacat.bsky.social open.spotify.com/show/1mlPotC...

It’s a article from the Times in the Business Recruitment, written by Jane Hamilton

Only 9% of tech workers come from lower socio-economic backgrounds, compared to 29% in finance. This stark reality hit me hard. Tech can change lives, but only if everyone has access. Change is critical, and it’s on us to make it happen.

#MentalHealth responses must be tailored to community and population needs -

gle.world/mental-healt...

@steveappleton.bsky.social

Melanie Williams @adass.bsky.social reflects on her year as President of the Directors Association. ‘Coproduction is written through’ ADASS and its next Presidents.
@tlap.bsky.social @socialcarefuture.bsky.social
@clentonf.bsky.social @mroutled.bsky.social

Woo Hoo! My copy has finally arrived. So very proud to be involved in this book which has brought together some of social work’s richest thinkers and most expressive writers to create an essential’How to’ for anti-racist practice @nimaljude.bsky.social @clentonf.bsky.social @coproisaac.bsky.social

Olaf Scholz Chancellor of Germany opening the Global Disability Summit in Berlin on screen sign language interpreter is visible

High level opening of the Global Disability Summit #GDS2025 in Berlin today with Olaf Scholz German Chancellor. This is the first time I’ve heard a world leader say #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs making a commitment to 15% of development projects having 15% of their funding specifically for Disability

Written questions and answers - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament Information from UK Parliament on written questions & answers, written statements and daily reports.

Govt says welfare spending is “out of control”but OBR data shows it stays at 10.9% of GDP. With cuts? Drops to 10.8%. A 0.1% change.Not a crisis a choice. And disabled people pay the price. 🤔
#TruthNotSpin #DisabilityJustice #SupportDontPunish #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs

The recent history and possible future of strengths based practice is taking shape at the Birmingham University IMPACT summit… great to see @clentonf.bsky.social @commcats.bsky.social @ewandking.bsky.social @lynromeo.bsky.social @jonglasby.bsky.social @nicksinclair.bsky.social @ndtihello.bsky.social