John Pring

Benefits and Poverty

September 22, 2016

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‘Fit for work’ suicide man’s sister tried to take her own life after DWP ordeal

The sister of a man driven to suicide by the “fitness for work” system tried to take her own life after being “treated like a criminal” by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) over her benefit claims. Eleanor Donnachie believes her brother Paul (pictured) was a victim of DWP’s failure to ensure the

Benefits and Poverty

September 22, 2016

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Nurse and her GP husband lodge complaint over ‘lies’ told by Capita PIP assessor

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A benefits assessor working for the outsourcing company Capita repeatedly “lied” in her report, after carrying out a face-to-face assessment of a disabled nurse which was observed by her husband, a retired GP. The disabled woman and her husband have asked not to be named – so their claims have not been put to

Transport

Doug Paulley on a bus, with text about the law on access

September 22, 2016

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Government agency ‘blocked attempts to expose abuse of bus access loophole’

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Some bus companies are taking advantage of a loophole that means they can avoid their legal obligations to ensure their buses are accessible to disabled people, the industry’s own trade association has admitted. The admission from the Confederation of Passenger Transport UK (CPT) came despite repeated efforts from a government agency to block attempts

Benefits and Poverty

September 22, 2016

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Lib Dem conference: Bid to scrap WCA approved, despite calls for more radical reform

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Liberal Democrats have voted for a new social security policy that will scrap the “fitness for work” test and all benefit sanctions, despite many disabled party members calling for a more radical approach to welfare reform. The vote at the party’s annual conference in Brighton (pictured) means that scrapping the work capability assessment (WCA),

Politics

September 22, 2016

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Lib Dem conference: Party picks first Westminster candidate from all-disabled shortlist

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The Liberal Democrats have become the first political party to pick a candidate to fight a parliamentary seat from a shortlist containing only disabled people. Former MP Stephen Lloyd, who lost his Eastbourne seat at the 2015 election by just 733 votes, was selected by his party to fight a possible snap general election.

Independent Living

September 22, 2016

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Council ‘pays Capita to cut care packages’

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A local authority has employed the outsourcing giant Capita to clear a backlog of annual reviews of its service-users’ care packages, in an apparent attempt to cut costs and help fill a hole in its budget. The “pilot project” has so far resulted in an average cut of seven per cent in disabled people’s

Politics

September 22, 2016

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Lib Dem conference: Party ‘needs to rebuild trust with disabled voters’

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The president of the Liberal Democrats has admitted that her party needs to rebuild trust among disabled people, after five years of coalition government ended with a shattering defeat at last year’s general election. Baroness [Sal] Brinton, herself a wheelchair-user, said she understood that many people, particularly those on the left, found the idea

Benefits and Poverty

September 15, 2016

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FoI reveals EHRC chair’s ‘conflict of interest’ over welfare reform inquiry

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The equality watchdog’s new chair, who is set to lead an investigation into whether Tory welfare reforms breached disabled people’s human rights, worked for the government on key contracts at the heart of those reforms, Disability News Service can reveal. David Isaac (pictured) was appointed by the government to chair the Equality and Human

Benefits and Poverty

September 15, 2016

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ESA figures show ‘very disturbing’ drop in number placed in support group

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“Very disturbing” new government figures show a steep fall in the proportion of disabled people being found eligible for out-of-work disability benefits. Disabled campaigners fear the figures show the government is cutting spending on disability benefits “below the radar”, after being forced to abandon its attempts to reduce expenditure on personal independence payment (PIP)

Author John Pring