Disabled people are facing an “existential threat” after the government suggested it was planning a further assault on disability benefits spending, while stirring up hostility towards disabled claimants. In an interview with The Sunday Times, Rishi Sunak said he planned to pay […]
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Starmer’s ‘very alarming’ call to legalise assisted suicide
The decision of Labour leader Keir Starmer to publicly back assisted suicide is “very alarming” and will make it “very, very difficult” for disabled campaigners to prevent its legalisation, according to those opposing a change in the law. Starmer told ITV News […]
Government launched ‘pitiful’ Disability Action Plan without knowing how much it would cost
The government has admitted launching its much-criticised Disability Action Plan without a clear idea of how much – or how little – it would cost. Disabled people’s organisations have already dismissed the short-term plan as a series of “empty promises” that fail […]
Labour’s DWP team ‘split’ over universal credit safety
Labour’s work and pensions team appears to be split over whether the party should pledge to act on serious concerns about the safety of the universal credit working-age benefits system. The party’s shadow minister for disabled people, Vicky Foxcroft, told Disability News […]
DWP figures ‘show how rise in staff workload led to mental health crisis’
A huge increase in the workload faced by civil servants managing universal credit cases led to significant increases in how many of them took time off after experiencing mental distress and other ill-health, new government figures suggest. The figures, secured through a […]
UN committee set to examine UK government’s ‘absolutely shocking’ behaviour
A delegation of disabled activists will travel to Geneva this week to help the United Nations hold the UK government to account for its continuing breaches of the UN disability convention. Members of the delegation, representing leading disabled people’s organisations (DPOs) and […]
Stammering charity calls on parliament to act on ‘febrile atmosphere’ in debates
Disabled campaigners are calling on the House of Commons to address its “febrile atmosphere” and ensure that those with communication differences who take part in parliamentary debates no longer have to fear being “ripped to shreds”. They have drawn up a petition* […]
Cost-of-living payments scrapped as spring budget ‘completely ignores disabled people’
The government has been accused of “another missed opportunity” to support disabled people, after ending all cost-of-living payments, including the annual payment to those on disability benefits. Disabled campaigners warned that Jeremy Hunt’s budget could lead to further cuts to disabled people’s […]
Decade-long quest for justice ‘proves DWP was responsible for our father’s death’
Two children of a disabled man whose suicide was triggered by being wrongly found “fit for work” have told MPs how their decade-long search for justice has proved the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) was responsible for their father’s death. Anne-Marie […]
Council’s plans to increase care charges ‘could have devastating consequences’
A disabled people’s organisation has warned its local council that plans to increase care charges for many residents by nearly £34 a week could have “devastating consequences” and “wreak havoc” on the lives of thousands of service-users. The proposal, which will only […]
DPAC demands ‘no more deaths from benefit cuts’ outside DWP headquarters
Disabled activists have explained why they travelled from across England to protest outside the headquarters of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) at social security reforms they say will put the lives of even more claimants at risk. Monday’s protest was […]
Government rejects call to work with disabled people to draft new 10-year disability strategy
The government has accepted just two of the recommendations made by a committee of MPs who delivered a powerful attack on the government’s discredited National Disability Strategy. The Commons women and equalities committee said in December that the strategy was merely “a […]
Foxcroft statement suggests she failed to read coroners’ reports into claimant suicides
Labour’s shadow disability minister has been asked why she apparently failed to read two reports by coroners that raised serious safeguarding concerns about the impact of universal credit on disabled people. Vicky Foxcroft had been asked about Labour’s failure to address concerns […]
DNS was not ‘vexatious’ when asking for details of DWP contacts with Telegraph, says watchdog
The information commissioner has ruled that Disability News Service (DNS) was not being “vexatious” when it tried to find out whether the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) tried to encourage a national newspaper to stir up hostility towards disabled people. In […]
Second coroner links universal credit flaws with death of a claimant
A coroner has linked the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and its universal credit benefit system with the death of a disabled woman, after its repeated failings and missed opportunities to protect her triggered a significant increase in her anxiety. Coroner […]
Committee of MPs rejects minority bid for report to push for assisted suicide legalisation
A cross-party committee of MPs has rejected attempts by a minority of its members to try to use a new report to push the government towards legalising assisted suicide in England and Wales. The report follows a 14-month inquiry, with more than […]
Disabled peer returns to the Lords to fight for victims of infected blood scandal
A disabled peer who lost her first husband through the contaminated blood scandal has called on the government to end its repeated delays in establishing a compensation scheme for those affected. Baroness [Jane] Campbell was speaking for the first time in the […]
Pandemic inquiry is asked why Welsh government’s ‘humanism’ failed to prevent ‘mass death and suffering’
Two national disabled people’s organisations have questioned why the “humanist” aspirations of the Welsh government were unable to prevent “mass death and real suffering” during the pandemic. Disability Wales and Disability Rights UK were delivering their opening statement to the section of […]
New questions over DWP fraud investigations after it wrongly threatens couple… over 88p
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is facing fresh questions over how it carries out fraud investigations after it threatened to suspend the benefits of a disabled woman over a savings account it wrongly claimed belonged to her husband. Chris Williams […]
Access to Work waiting-list climbs again, despite DWP claims
The number of disabled people waiting for a decision on their Access to Work (AtW) claim has continued to rise, six months after the government insisted it had improved the system and was hiring extra staff. The Department for Work and Pensions […]
Report highlights access barriers imposed by sustainability efforts at live events
A new report aims to ensure that efforts by organisers of festivals and other live events to address the climate crisis do not impose further access barriers on disabled people. The idea for the project came from Suzanne Bull (pictured), founder of […]