Disability News Service

The mother of a disabled woman who took her own life after the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) wrongly stopped her benefits has called for a public inquiry into the years of deaths linked to the department’s actions. Joy Dove was […]

A coroner has found that the decision of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to wrongly stop a disabled woman’s benefits after a string of safeguarding failings was the “trigger” for her to take her own life. Coroner Clare Bailey found […]

Disabled union activists repeatedly challenged a Labour minister at a conference this week on the government’s plans to cut billions of pounds a year from spending on disability benefits.  There was prolonged applause when one disabled delegate, Mark Anthony Bastiani, from the […]

Disabled activists are considering taking legal action against the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) after it scrapped the only event due to take place in Wales as part of the consultation on its disability benefits green paper. They say MPs should […]

A new book by a leading disabled academic-activist explores how people-powered movements – including the disability movement – can end the dominance of the “man-made disaster” that is neoliberalism. Professor Peter Beresford (pictured) has been at the heart of the movement and […]

There are fewer staff at stations and ticket counters and increased ticket prices since the emergence of the Covid pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis, disabled rail passengers have told researchers for a government report. Some of those interviewed for the research* said […]

The disability minister has been accused of a “shocking lack of empathy” after walking past a disabled woman who collapsed on the floor at the end of a meeting about government plans to cut disability benefits by billions of pounds. Representatives of […]

Cuts and reforms to the Access to Work system pose an “existential threat” and risk “decimating” the disability arts movement in Britain, disabled artists, companies and consultants are warning this week. As pressure grows on the Labour government over its Pathways to […]

A leading disabled artist has been forced to stop working by “devastating” and “destructive” cuts to the Labour government’s Access to Work disability employment programme. Jess Thom (pictured this week) has had to halt her work with Touretteshero after AtW cut her […]

Thousands of disabled people could lose out on thousands of pounds a year in housing benefit – and face eviction – because of the government’s cuts to disability benefits, but ministers have no idea how many will lose out and risk homelessness. […]

An exhibition that will travel the country to celebrate the “past, present and future” of the railways will be inaccessible to many disabled people who use mobility scooters, because Network Rail has used carriages that are more than 30 years old. The […]

Disabled public figures behind a new campaign to persuade the government to back down on its “inhumane and catastrophic” plans to cut billions of pounds from disability benefits say they are overwhelmed by the response since its launch. Tuesday’s launch saw 100 […]

A disabled MP has dropped his support for the assisted suicide bill, largely because of concerns that “broken” social care and palliative care services could push terminally-ill people into seeking an assisted death. Steve Darling told Disability News Service (DNS) this week […]

Disabled people from across the UK converged on parliament yesterday to challenge their MPs in face-to-face meetings about the government’s proposed cuts to disability benefits. Disabled activists travelled from Northern Ireland, from Wales – including a group of Disability Wales members – […]

The Welsh government has been accused of putting up a “smokescreen” after publishing a draft disability rights plan that lacks “teeth” and is full instead of pledges to carry out reviews and produce guidance while offering no new money. The 10-year Draft […]

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has unlawfully failed to respond to a request to see a secret paper on the department’s safeguarding failures, casting doubt on a minister’s pledge to open DWP to “public scrutiny”. The “critical friend” paper was […]

More than 50 disabled people’s organisations (DPOs) have called on the equality watchdog to investigate the “urgent threat” to the equality and human rights of disabled people posed by the new Labour government. In a letter to the chief executive of the […]

Most employers had no contact with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in the previous year, according to new DWP research, highlighting the task facing the government as it tries to boost the number of disabled people in work. The results […]

Disabled peers have told a committee of MPs that they face a “daily fight” just to be able to do their job, because of their continuing battle against the access barriers within the House of Lords. Members of the Commons modernisation committee […]

Work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall has refused to apologise after repeatedly misleading MPs by suggesting that her planned cuts of billions of pounds to personal independence payment (PIP) were linked to supporting disabled people into work. On four occasions in just […]