the country's only news agency specialising in disability issues
Labour’s leader has been accused by leading party activists of using “divisive rhetoric” and a “deliberate” failure to mention disabled people and others who are out of work in his main conference speech this week. Keir Starmer mentioned “working people” 25 times […]
The Labour party will prioritise increasing the wages of care workers above the need to eliminate the charges disabled people are forced to pay for their social care, if it wins power at the next election. Wes Streeting, the shadow health and […]
Labour is continuing to “drag its feet” on eliminating the barriers faced by its own disabled members, leading activists warned this week at the party’s annual conference in Liverpool. A series of disabled members spoke out about their continuing frustration that a […]
Labour’s shadow disability minister has promised that her party’s plans to “target” those who are out of work because of long-term ill-health will not see claimants punished if they refuse an offer of support. Shadow work and pensions secretary Jon Ashworth had […]
Labour’s shadow minister for disabled people has pledged that co-producing policy with disabled people and ensuring government communications are accessible will be her top priorities if her party wins power at the next general election. Vicky Foxcroft (pictured) said it would take […]
The government ignored crucial advice from disability organisations when it was planning an “accessible queue” for disabled people who wanted to pay their respects to the Queen at the lying-in-state in Westminster Hall, it emerged this week. The Department for Digital, Culture, […]
A disabled barrister says she could have to abandon vital family law work in court because of the bureaucratic incompetence, complexity and delays within the Access to Work (AtW) scheme. Christina Warner (pictured) has told Disability News Service (DNS) that her work […]
After more than two decades of campaigning, some of the first Deaf people have been able to complete jury service in England and Wales with support from British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters, following a change in the law. The new laws were […]
Disabled people who struggled for hours to queue to pay their respects to the Queen at the lying-in-state in Westminster Hall say the government treated them as an “afterthought” and that its “discriminatory” arrangements were “a shambles”. Many disabled people travelled from […]
Disabled campaigners have raised fresh fears for the future of accessible rail travel, after reports that the government plans to close most train station ticket offices as part of a continuing programme of cuts. A national newspaper reported on Sunday that the […]
Reviews carried out by NHS trusts across England into a mental health scheme branded unethical, unlawful and unsafe raised multiple concerns about its use, documents obtained by Disability News Service (DNS) have revealed. The reviews also show that many of the trusts […]
New figures have revealed a huge increase in the number of times that staffing problems are causing lifts to be closed and step-free access suspended across London’s tube network. The figures, secured by Disability News Service (DNS) through a freedom of information […]
A ground-breaking conference in November will put disabled people at the heart of the debate on how to remove the barriers preventing service-users from being involved in planning the services they use. It is believed to be the first time that a […]
The body of a disabled man was discovered by police officers in his derelict home six months after his benefits were cut off by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), a report has revealed. In circumstances similar to those of other […]
Disabled people’s organisations (DPOs) have criticised the measures taken to ensure that the Queen’s Lying-in-State is accessible to disabled people as “inadequate” and “disappointing”. The government has arranged an “accessible queueing scheme” for those unable to stand in a queue for “an […]
Campaigners have written to the new prime minister to ask her to act urgently to prevent disabled people facing a “humanitarian crisis” this winter due to the “devastating and intensifying” levels of poverty they are facing. They warn Liz Truss in the […]
Two campaigners have won permission from the high court to challenge the government’s refusal to ensure that all disabled people can safely evacuate from high-rise blocks of flats in emergencies. Georgie Hulme and Sarah Rennie, co-founders of the disabled-led leaseholder action group Claddag […]
Disabled MPs and peers have delivered personal tributes to Queen Elizabeth II, as members of both Houses of Parliament responded to the news of her death. The crossbench peer Baroness [Tanni] Grey-Thompson said the Queen’s “unstinting support and knowledge of the sporting […]
A disabled man who lives in a mobile home because of his agoraphobia says he faces being made homeless because of Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) rules on housing support that were introduced alongside universal credit. David* says he needs to […]
By Tom McDonough A user-led digital inclusion service has changed the lives of more than 5,000 isolated and digitally-excluded people, helping them combat loneliness and connect to vital services, according to one of the organisations behind the scheme. The Tech to Community […]
A disabled woman whose body was found in her flat months after all her benefits had been removed had been hounded for years by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), and repeatedly failed by other public bodies, documents have shown. Sophia […]