the country's only news agency specialising in disability issues
The government has caused outrage after announcing that it would not implement measures – recommended by the Grenfell Tower Inquiry – that would have ensured disabled people could safely evacuate high-rise blocks of flats in emergencies. The inquiry had recommended that owners […]
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) failed to alert GPs and social services to the “very extensive” difficulties a disabled man was facing, three months before he died in conditions of severe self-neglect. A safeguarding review of the death of Mr […]
The government has branded Disability News Service (DNS) “vexatious” for attempting to use the Freedom of Information Act to obtain key details from more than 90 secret reviews into deaths and other serious incidents involving benefit claimants. DNS asked the Department for […]
New government figures that show an increase of 1.3 million in the number of disabled people in work since 2017 are “meaningless” when it comes to the inequality disabled people face in the jobs market, ministers have been warned. The minister for […]
The future of a high-profile annual access awards event has been thrown into doubt after a complaint that two of its team made offensive comments about the LGBT+ movement. At least three comments were made before and during the Blue Badge Access […]
The senior civil servant in charge of universal credit has repeatedly refused to explain why ministers have spent years using misleading information to try to persuade disabled people to transfer onto the government’s new working-age benefit system. Neil Couling spent three days […]
Some of disabled people’s increased risk of death from Covid could be due to the discrimination they face, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has concluded. A new study into disabled people’s Covid-related deaths in England through the three waves of the […]
The government’s Access to Work (AtW) scheme is in crisis, with new figures showing the number of disabled people waiting for decisions on their applications has more than quadrupled in a year. By 22 March, there were 20,909 disabled people waiting for […]
Disabled activists have pledged that new government plans to criminalise many of those who take part in direct action protests will not stop them taking to the streets to fight oppression. Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC), which has embarrassed successive governments with […]
At least six pieces of legislation proposed by the government this week are likely to have a life-changing impact on hundreds of thousands of disabled people if they become law over the next year. The Queen’s speech, delivered by Prince Charles on […]
Disabled campaigners have raised concerns about a Mental Health Act reform bill which the government plans to introduce in the new session of parliament. Although many of the proposals to be included in what will be a draft bill were widely welcomed […]
The equality watchdog has again refused to apologise for failing disabled people, after suggesting publicly that people experiencing symptoms of long Covid should not be entitled to protection from the Equality Act. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) sparked outrage on […]
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has refused to release a report which would show which of its websites and other digital services are breaching its legal duties on accessibility. Last month, DWP released a summary report from February which showed […]
The government’s own advisory committee is set to publish a string of controversial reports that have previously been kept secret, and which could expose years of ministerial failings on accessible transport. The reports and other documents drawn up by the Disabled Persons […]
The government is refusing to release information that would show the impact on disabled people and other equality groups of the chancellor’s spending decisions in March’s spring statement. Disabled people reacted with disbelief in March to the chancellor’s “cruel” decision to all-but-ignore […]
The government has refused to promise to accelerate the long-delayed installation of tactile paving on railway platforms across the country, despite an inquest finding that the lack of safety markings played a part in a disabled man’s death. The government has promised […]
A pan-London disabled people’s organisation (DPO) is to call on the capital’s mayor to do more to support disabled Londoners hit by the unfolding cost-of-living crisis. Inclusion London said this week that food and energy bills have been rising sharply over the […]
Disabled people’s organisations (DPOs) across the UK are “constantly threatened” by a lack of core funding, despite the “crucial” services they provide, according to a new report. The report on the state of the UK DPO sector suggests that its annual income […]
Disabled people’s organisations (DPOs) are set to play a key role in drawing up a plan to address disability poverty in Glasgow. The call for an action plan is one of the recommendations from a report for Glasgow City Council’s Social Recovery […]
The government is being asked to tighten the law to stop the “horrendous” discrimination disabled people are facing from ferry companies that refuse to allow them to travel for safety reasons. Matthew Smith, a retired lecturer in marine engineering and health and […]
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has bowed to pressure from a regulator and finally published figures proving that at least one million disabled people will eventually be left worse off through the move to universal credit. Disability News Service (DNS) […]