The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has finally admitted that it could be partly responsible for the deaths of some benefit claimants. The admission came – quietly – after its release of heavily-redacted versions of 49 secret “peer reviews” … Continue reading →
Updated from: http://loopys-rollingwiththepunches.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/iain-duncan-smith-legacy.html The following is a list of policies and damning court decisions and findings undertaken under the watch of Iain Duncan Smith (emphasis on those affecting disabled people): April 2011: LHA (Local Housing Allowance) is reduced to … Continue reading →
‘I, Daniel Blake’ moved Cannes audiences to tears and is greeted with shouts of ‘BRAVO!’ Black Triangle Campaign is in the film’s credits for our work in advising Scottish scriptwriter Paul Laverty on the WCA and sanctions system which is … Continue reading →
By John Pring Disability News Service Saturday 14th May 2016 After 21 months of smokescreens, excuses, obstruction and secrecy, work and pensions ministers have finally been forced to publish some of the conclusions reached by their own civil servants about … Continue reading →
By Patrick Butler and John Pring ‘Peer reviews’ challenge claims by ministers that there is no connection between welfare reform policies and deaths of vulnerable claimants A series of secret internal inquiries into the deaths of people claiming social security … Continue reading →
The increasing death toll due to the loss of benefits Thank to Maggie Zolobajluk @22magoo for her support in this extremely sad task. 14 Sep 2015 — The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) published guidance to Jobcentre officials who decide whether … Continue reading →
The new chair of the equality watchdog has taken up his new post, despite question-marks over potential conflicts of interest arising from his legal firm’s work for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and other government departments. David Isaac … Continue reading →
Disabled campaigners are hoping a new government taskforce will lead to apprenticeships becoming more accessible to disabled people, despite concerns over who ministers will invite to take part. Three government departments announced this week that they have set up the … Continue reading →
A pioneering programme backed by £5 million of lottery cash has issued a call for user-led teams across the UK to apply for funding to research new ways to remove the barriers to independent living faced by disabled people. … Continue reading →
Two disabled peers have criticised ministers for refusing to collect figures that would demonstrate the impact of a key element of new benefit rules that will see tens of thousands of people losing their Motability vehicles. The Liberal Democrat peer … Continue reading →
A report by peers on the impact of equality legislation on disabled people appears to have secured its first success, after the government agreed to bring into force taxi regulations – 20 years after they were first included in legislation. … Continue reading →
The new work and pensions secretary has suggested the government’s pledge to halve the disability employment gap will face lengthy delays, after he said he wanted to spend a “few years” testing how to achieve the target. Stephen Crabb, who … Continue reading →
The new work and pensions secretary has sent out mixed signals on whether he wants to make further cuts to spending on disability benefits. Stephen Crabb, who was appointed after the resignation of Iain Duncan Smith in March, was giving … Continue reading →
By John Pring Disability News Service Thursday 5th May 2016 Scottish police are assessing whether to launch a criminal investigation into the failure of two government ministers to address a coroner’s concerns about the safety of the “fitness for … Continue reading →
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is facing claims that it is deliberately misleading benefit claimants into thinking they have no right of appeal if they miss the deadline for applying for the new personal independence payment (PIP). … Continue reading →
Hundreds of thousands of disabled people are living in destitution, the first piece of research to look at extreme poverty in the UK suggests. The study, published by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, found that in 2015 there were 1.25 million … Continue reading →
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has proposed scrapping two benefit regulations that offer vital protection to disabled people facing the controversial “fitness for work” test. In response to a freedom of information request, DWP has sent Disability News … Continue reading →
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has drawn up secret plans for sweeping reforms that would make it far harder for disabled people to appeal against having their benefit claims turned down. The heavily-redacted document was sent to Disability … Continue reading →
Government claims that welfare reforms are necessary, disregards the inevitable deaths they created, writes researcher Mo Stewart By: Mo Stewart Date: Tuesday, 12 April, 2016 – See more at: http://www.crimeandjustice.org.uk/resources/preventable-harm-government-policy#sthash.1iWr1RuX.dpuf There have been many articles regarding the negative impact of … Continue reading →
Benefits claimants are subjected to an ‘amateurish, secret penal system which is more severe than the mainstream judicial system’, writes Dr David Webster of the University of Glasgow. By Dr David Webster Published by the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies Few … Continue reading →