Disability News Service

A Tory shadow minister has said that accusing parents of “gaming the system” to secure support for their disabled children is “populist BS*”, just hours after his leader accused many disabled adults of doing exactly that when claiming benefits. The contrasting comments […]

Disabled campaigners have welcomed a government strategy that says new passenger trains should aim to allow level boarding wherever possible, but they say key amendments to the railways bill will be needed to make the plan a reality. They have also called […]

The government has refused to say whether the disability minister was told that a member of the steering group reviewing personal independence payment (PIP) was about to publish a report calling for spending on disability benefits for children to be slashed. Jean-André […]

An accessible transport expert was left stuck in mid-air on an unsafe platform lift for over an hour at this week’s Conservative conference, just after the party’s own disability group admitted access was not a priority for the Tories. Clive Gilbert, head […]

The disability minister has supported his government’s “unprincipled” decision to slash accessible housing targets set by the last Conservative government. Under plans put forward by Tory ministers, 100 per cent of homes would have had to be built to the M4(2)* accessible […]

The Green party has been unable to explain why it failed to use its “biggest ever party conference” in Brighton this week to promote any new policies aimed at addressing the many societal barriers facing disabled people. Analysis of the 12 press […]

Transport industry managers are failing to budget for access to be embedded from the start of major projects because of the lack of national accessibility standards, a meeting at this week’s Conservative party conference has heard. The fringe meeting in Birmingham – […]

The Conservative party has refused to explain why it blocked Disability News Service (DNS) from receiving its press releases at its annual conference, and why it refuses to answer questions on disability-related policy. Although DNS was granted media accreditation to this year’s […]

Andy Burnham’s announcement of free personal care as part of a new National Care Service will only apply to those over 65, and not to working-age disabled people, No 10 has confirmed, sparking shock and concern among disabled people’s organisations. The prime […]

The government’s youth inactivity adviser swore at Disability News Service’s editor after being challenged about his failure to discuss the safeguarding risks involved in forcing tens of thousands of young disabled people into employment. A series of speeches by former New Labour […]

The minister leading a government review of personal independence payment (PIP) has refused four times to rule out cuts to spending, but he has promised no disabled person will be forced to accept products or services instead of cash payments. In an […]

The disability minister has performed a rapid U-turn and agreed to do more to involve disabled people in producing his cross-government disability strategy, but his efforts have still been described as “back to front and feeble”. Sir Stephen Timms, the minister for […]

Disabled Labour activists say they have seen some early signs of improvement in the way the party works with them on disability equality, in the two months since Andy Burnham became prime minister. Disability News Service reported last year how senior figures […]

The social security minister has still yet to decide whether secret reviews into deaths linked to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) can be released to grieving relatives, a year after he asked civil servants to examine the issue. It is […]

The BBC has failed to explain why the host of its flagship current affairs programme Question Time has repeatedly pushed the idea that social security spending must be cut, while ignoring official figures that debunk claims it is “spiralling”. It is the […]

The home secretary has been asked why she is delaying the implementation of a “long overdue reform” that would take an “important step” towards equality for disabled victims of hate crime. The change to the law on aggravated offences was part of […]

Disabled people’s organisations have been kept “firmly on the outside” of a key government programme to improve workplace health, raising fresh questions about ministers’ commitment to co-producing disability-related policy. Disabled people’s organisations (DPOs) spoke out this week after the government published draft […]

A cross-party committee of MPs has warned the government against using the Timms Review to cut disabled people’s access to personal independence payment (PIP), which it said would only increase pressure on other services. The warning came in a letter from Labour […]

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey has called for the social care system to do more to “empower” disabled people, but without stating what policies his party would introduce to achieve this if it won power at the next general election. Davey used […]

The Liberal Democrat work and pensions spokesperson has pledged to do more to highlight that spending on social security is stable, so he can challenge right-wing politicians who claim it is spiralling out of control. Steve Darling told Disability News Service (DNS) […]