the country's only news agency specialising in disability issues
The UK Covid inquiry is guilty of “a deep disservice” to disabled people neglected in their own homes during the pandemic by failing to examine their experiences in detail in its crucial report on the social care system, say campaigners. On Tuesday, […]
Disabled campaigners say they are “deeply concerned” about the government’s commitment to scrapping care charges, after a minister refused to confirm that Andy Burnham’s pledge of free personal care for older people would also apply to working-age disabled people. There was alarm […]
Three leading social media companies have failed to act over animations that are spreading hate and lies about disabled people who receive benefits at an “alarming” rate. The animations – focusing on recipients of personal independence payment (PIP) – have been viewed […]
The Times has blocked Disability News Service from alerting its readers to research which exposed how previous reforms to out-of-work disability benefits led to hundreds of deaths of disabled people in the early 2010s. Last week, the newspaper launched what it calls […]
Disabled people have spoken in a new report of their “constant fear” and worry that being physically active could put their disability benefits at risk. The report reveals how the fear of losing personal independence payment (PIP) is preventing many disabled people […]
Disabled children and young people are being placed at risk of abuse because they are missing out on “vital” relationship and sex education at school, according to a new report. The research found “patchy” provision of relationship and sex education (RSE) for […]
The aviation industry has made slow but steady progress in introducing suggested improvements to the accessibility of air travel for disabled people in the UK over the last year, according to a new report. The progress was outlined by a group set […]
Disability News Service (DNS) will continue to operate and produce stories for its website and subscribers, despite its editor being made redundant. DNS, which was founded by disabled journalist John Pring in 2009, was bought by Canary Media in January, and has […]
The charity that oversees the Motability car scheme says that “deeply troubling” Conservative plans to save £1 billion a year by removing VAT exemptions could instead “dismantle” the scheme and would raise just a few million pounds in revenue. Motability Foundation’s boss, […]
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is secretly introducing changes to how it checks the quality of disability assessments, risking claimant safety and increasing the chance of dodgy reports slipping through the net, Disability News Service has learned. A member of […]
A disabled peer has broken new ground this week by using a version of her own voice – generated by artificial intelligence (AI) – to deliver a speech in the House of Lords. Baroness [Jane] Campbell used voice cloning technology devised by […]
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has been ordered to release a report that examined the quality of personal independence payment (PIP) assessments carried out by telephone, after one of them was linked to the death or serious harm suffered by […]
Disabled people can now report media coverage that scapegoats and stigmatises them and contributes to the hostile environment many of them face in their daily lives, thanks to a new campaign. The Disability Media Action campaign was launched this week by Inclusion […]
Disabled campaigners have given a broadly warm welcome to a high-profile independent review into the prevalence of mental ill-health and distress, ADHD and autism in England, despite attempts by commentators and politicians to misrepresent its findings. The review for the government, chaired […]
The Times has joined a long list of organisations and individuals that are ignoring the risks posed by cuts and reforms to the social security system for disabled people who rely on benefits to survive. The newspaper this week launched The Times […]
Police forces and prosecutors are both finally working to increase the number of disability hate crime prosecutions in England and Wales, as the number of court cases remains stubbornly low, despite a long-awaited rise. Disability News Service (DNS) has been reporting for […]
The Conservative shadow work and pensions secretary may finally have accepted that spending on social security is not “out of control”, just as her party says it wants to cut more than £36 billion a year from the “welfare” budget. The apparent […]
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 […]