Disabled people’s organisations and grassroots groups are set to call on disabled people across England to provide the evidence they need to prepare a “hard-hitting” report on the government’s failure to implement the UN disability convention. The Reclaiming Our Futures … Continue reading →
Disabled activists say they are “deeply concerned” by the “troubling” decision to appoint an outspoken supporter of legalising assisted suicide as the new minister for disabled people. Penny Mordaunt was appointed minister for disabled people, health and work, in the … Continue reading →
Campaigners have warned disabled people considering a move to Scotland in the wake of the European Union (EU) referendum vote that there are considerable barriers standing in their way. The warnings came after Disability News Service reported last week that … Continue reading →
A trio of experts have destroyed government claims that cutting out-of-work benefits for disabled people will help them find work. They were giving evidence to the Commons work and pensions select committee, as part of its inquiry … Continue reading →
A disabled-led network set up by the minister for disabled people in 2012 to offer the government advice on the implementation of its disability policies has cut the areas it focuses on to just one “strategic theme”. Esther McVey, then … Continue reading →
The new work and pensions secretary scrapped the disability and employment white paper prepared by his predecessor Iain Duncan Smith because he “didn’t like the look” of it, a Tory MP has told a parliamentary meeting. The new work … Continue reading →
A government contractor has told a traumatised abuse survivor he must be reassessed for employment and support allowance (ESA), just a week after a minister faced a call to resign for threatening to stop another of his disability benefits. Justin … Continue reading →
Disabled activists have welcomed the decision of doctors to vote strongly against relaxing their union’s position on physician-assisted suicide. The British Medical Association (BMA) voted by 63 per cent to 37 per cent this week at its annual representative meeting … Continue reading →
Disabled activists are calling on the UN to take action after elections to the 18-strong committee that oversees the implementation of its disability rights convention left it with just a single female member alongside 17 men. The committee on the … Continue reading →
A minister has been urged to resign, after he threatened a traumatised child abuse survivor – who is waiting to give evidence about the abuse in court – that his benefits would be stopped if he failed to co-operate … Continue reading →
Official figures suggest that a new appeal stage introduced for unsuccessful claimants has been little more than a delaying tactic aimed at reducing the number of disabled people claiming benefits, say campaigners. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has … Continue reading →
Appalled activists protested outside a London premiere last night after describing the film as a “disability snuff movie” that suggests disabled people are better off dead. The protest outside the Curzon Mayfair cinema in London’s West End was coordinated by … Continue reading →
A disabled parent has accused his local authority of discriminating against him by refusing to take his access needs into account when deciding which primary school his son can attend in September. Youcef Bey-Zekkoub believes the school admissions process … Continue reading →
By John Pring Disability News Service Thursday 26th May 2016 Labour’s shadow chancellor has called for Iain Duncan Smith to face criminal charges over allegations that his failure to address a coroner’s concerns about the “fitness for work” test led … Continue reading →
The government may have abandoned its target to halve the disability employment gap, according to a leading disabled people’s organisation. Disability Rights UK (DR UK) said it feared comments made last week by the new work and pensions secretary, Stephen … 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 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 →
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 →