User-led groups have welcomed a new government mental health strategy, but fear that spending cuts put its success in doubt. The new cross-government strategy, No Health Without Mental Health, pledges “parity of esteem between mental and physical health services”, with a […]
News Archive
Court tells councils to think again on cuts after equality failure
A judge has told councils to rethink plans to slash spending on a London-wide grants programme because they failed to carry out a proper assessment of how the cuts would affect disabled people and other minority groups. The high court ruling […]
Court concludes that disabled volunteers have no rights
A court ruling that disabled volunteers are not entitled to protection under discrimination at work laws has sparked serious concerns over their rights. The Court of Appeal ruled that a disabled volunteer for Mid Sussex Citizens Advice Bureau was not entitled […]
DLA reforms lead disabled people ‘to question value of their own lives’
Disabled people are beginning to “question the value of their own lives” because of government plans to slash spending on disability living allowance (DLA), according to a new survey. Disability Alliance (DA) has released the latest results from a survey on […]
Hate crime website should help close reporting gap
A relaunched national police website should make it easier for disabled people to report disability hate crime to their local force. The True Vision site now allows victims of hate crime in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to report offences online […]
Failure to consult ‘led to London bus design flaws’
Designers of the successor to London’s inaccessible Routemaster bus have failed to include enough space for wheelchair-users, say campaigners. The accessible transport charity Transport for All (TfA) says the new Routemaster’s wheelchair space is too small, and “considerably smaller” than spaces […]
Mail welfare story sparks complaints to press watchdog
Disabled campaigners have complained to the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) after a national newspaper accused hundreds of thousands of disabled people of “trying it on” in a bid to secure out-of-work disability benefits. The story in the Daily Mail was based […]
Government to review impact of housing benefit cuts
Campaigners and MPs have welcomed the government’s decision to commission an independent review of the impact of controversial cuts and reforms to housing benefits on disabled people and other minority groups. Lord Freud the minister for welfare reform, made a “firm […]
Failure to close roads forces athletes to pull out of marathon
Two of Britain’s leading Paralympic athletes were forced to pull out of the world championships wheelchair marathon because the organisers had failed to close the course to traffic. David Weir – who had already won three gold medals during the IPC […]
Activists postpone protest after EHRC’s meeting pledge
Disabled activists planning to occupy the equality watchdog’s offices in protest at its failure to stand up for the rights of disabled people hit by government spending cuts have agreed to postpone their action. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) […]