Disability News Service

The Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s final report has revealed how opportunities to produce evacuation plans for disabled residents of Grenfell – and other high-rise buildings in the same London borough – were repeatedly rejected by those responsible for their safety. The report was […]

People with mental distress are “significantly more likely” to be affected by plans to scrap the work capability assessment than claimants with physical impairments, documents released after a freedom of information battle have revealed. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has […]

Disabled activists and allies used negotiation and peaceful direct action to ensure that hundreds of copies of a book about decades of Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) “bureaucratic violence” will reach MPs this week. Their action ensured that every MP will […]

Disabled campaigners have raised serious concerns about plans by the education watchdog to reform the way it inspects and assesses schools. Ofsted promised this week to place more “focus and scrutiny” on how schools in England meet the needs of disabled children, […]

An “eye-opening” report has called for action to address the “inconsistent, unpredictable and sometimes inaccessible services” that disabled bus passengers have to put up with. The report is based on research that aimed to understand the main challenges faced by different groups […]

“Positive” new figures show there are far more disabled MPs in the House of Commons than previously thought, and possibly as many as 40. Even after the addition of at least three new disabled MPs after July’s general election – Labour’s Dr […]

Labour’s Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has failed its latest test on transparency after appealing against a regulator’s decision that it should release vital information from secret reports into the deaths of universal credit claimants. The information will show how many […]

Disabled activists are hoping a final push with their crowdfunding campaign will allow copies of a new book about the “violent” history of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to be sent to key politicians across the country. By this morning […]

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has been ordered to release missing parts of a document that warned national power cuts could cause “catastrophic deterioration” in some disabled people who rely on medical equipment in their own homes. Although the […]

Disabled people and allies are hoping that a new national network will support service-users who are constantly battling their local authority over their social care packages. The Care Net is particularly focusing on disabled people who use direct payments to arrange support […]

A retired Paralympian has called for the charity that oversees the Motability scheme to use some of its huge financial reserves to allow more disabled people with high support needs to drive independently. Zoe Dunklin (pictured) believes that Motability Foundation’s policies on […]

Three deaths of disabled people who took their own lives were linked to flaws within the universal credit system, despite the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) previously dismissing fears about the safety of “vulnerable” claimants as “misplaced”. A report by the […]

Thanks to the success of a crowdfunding initiative, every MP is to receive a copy of a book that investigates how the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) caused countless deaths of disabled benefit claimants over the last 14 years. Organisers of […]

Both the government and Network Rail have refused to say what will happen to £65 million of funding that was allocated to improving access at rail stations over the last five years, but was never spent. Disability News Service (DNS) revealed last […]

A disabled woman who sits on a social security tribunal is set to take legal action against the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) for breaching the Human Rights Act, after years of “persecution” over her benefits. Katherine*, who continues to sit […]

Accessibility standards at airports across the UK have slumped over the last year – and in comparison with pre-pandemic levels – despite the regulator claiming they have improved. The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) issued an annual report yesterday (Wednesday) that showed […]

A peer support scheme that has helped hundreds of disabled people in a single borough with the barriers they face in their daily lives has secured nearly £600,000 in funding over the next five years to continue its work. Inclusion Barnet’s Touchpoint […]

A disabled people’s organisation is calling on coffee shops to do more to avoid the “pervasive humiliation” faced by many customers who stammer when they try to place their order. Many people who stammer can be rushed, ignored and even mimicked when […]

Disabled people are back “in the firing line” on spending cuts, activists have warned, following a trio of decisions announced by Labour’s new chancellor, Rachel Reeves, this week. Reeves told MPs on Monday that there would be cuts to social care and […]

Network Rail has today apologised after admitting that it failed to spend £65 million of funding allocated to improving access at rail stations. The admission came after Disability News Service (DNS) secured figures through a freedom of information request which showed spending […]