the country's only news agency specialising in disability issues
A doctor working for the government contractor Atos told a gay disabled man she was assessing for his entitlement to disability benefits that his sexuality meant he was “defective” and that God needed to fix him like a “broken” car. Atos […]
The government’s decision to extend the contracts of two discredited companies that carry out disability benefit assessments has been branded “appalling”, “shocking” and “a complete con”. The move has also been criticised by the Scottish government. Sarah Newton, the minister for […]
Campaigners have raised serious concerns about government plans to video-record all face-to-face assessments for personal independence payment (PIP). The move, which will begin with a pilot project, before being rolled out across the country, was announced this week by the minister […]
UPDATE: BECAUSE OF THE NUMBER OF PIP CLAIMANTS WHO HAVE ALREADY BEEN IN TOUCH (MORE THAN 100), PLEASE DO NOT SEND ANY FURTHER POSSIBLE CASES TO DNS. THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO HAS BEEN IN TOUCH. THERE WILL BE A FURTHER UPDATE […]
Tens of thousands of disabled people could have had their disability benefit claims decided on evidence from assessment reports that were of “unacceptable” poor quality, government figures suggest. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) figures suggest that civil servants may […]
The government has given a mixed response to a report by a committee of MPs that concluded that the disability benefit assessment system was being undermined by a “pervasive culture of mistrust”. Ministers have agreed in their response to make the […]
The disability benefit assessment system is being undermined by a “pervasive culture of mistrust”, fuelled by widespread claims that assessors are deliberately trying to prevent disabled people receiving the support they are entitled to, according to a committee of MPs. The […]
Disabled campaigners have welcomed a report by MPs on disability benefit assessments, which they say highlights “serious multiple failures”, but many believe it should have done more to highlight the serious “preventable harm” caused by the system. The report by the […]
A senior opposition MP is to write to the minister for disabled people to ask how she plans to penalise government contractors Atos and Capita, following last week’s “devastating” revelations about their “shocking” failings in delivering disability benefit assessments. Stephen Lloyd, […]
A watchdog is examining the failure of two healthcare regulators to punish nurses, paramedics and physiotherapists who write dishonest benefit assessment reports. The Professional Standards Authority (PSA) is looking at concerns about the way regulators deal with complaints about nurses, physiotherapists […]