the country's only news agency specialising in disability issues
The work and pensions secretary has bragged about cutting disabled people’s support, three days after launching a child poverty strategy which warned that more than a million children in families where someone was disabled were living in “deep material poverty”. Pat McFadden […]
The disability minister has refused to apologise after misleading MPs about concerns over nearly £2 billion in new cuts to disability benefits. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has added to these transparency concerns by itself providing misleading information about the […]
A statutory duty in the new railways bill to ensure ministers and public bodies promote the needs of disabled passengers is “too vague” and must be strengthened as the legislation passes through parliament, MPs were told yesterday (Wednesday). The transport select committee […]
Peers have been urged to “err on the side of caution” and raise the minimum age limit for an assisted death from 18 to 25, as part of a controversial bill that aims to legalise the practice. As the House of Lords […]
The Scottish and UK governments are both failing to uphold the rights of disabled people in key areas, according to an annual report by Scotland’s human rights watchdog. Two of the 10 areas of “urgent concern” highlighted by the Scottish Human Rights […]
Hundreds, or even thousands, of service-users in Kent should benefit from a legal case taken by a disabled woman who spent years over-paying care charges because the county council failed to tell her about crucial rules. Kent County Council – which is […]
The government has refused to explain the impact that last week’s budget will have on disabled people who receive benefits, despite repeated requests for clarity over cuts of up to £580 million a year. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and […]
Ministers have been forced to admit that the proportion of Access to Work claims they are rejecting has leapt by more than a fifth this year, with disabled campaigners describing the figures as “unacceptable” and “clearly worrying”. The figures, provided through a […]
The government’s “independent” spending watchdog has refused to explain why it removed figures from its crucial budget forecast report that proved spending on social security is not spiralling out of control. The move by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) will help […]
The national body for disabled people’s organisations (DPOs) in Wales has issued five major demands to political parties ahead of next spring’s elections to the Welsh Senedd. The Disabled People’s Manifesto, published by Disability Wales, includes a call for the UN Convention […]
Deaf people who use British Sign Language (BSL) face “entrenched” and “systemic” exclusion from health and social care services across Britain, according to a new report by government advisers. The report* found that Deaf and Deafblind people’s lack of access to services […]
Years of scapegoating rhetoric and politicians casting disabled people as “scroungers” have reinforced prejudices about the blue badge parking scheme and led to “envy and resentment” instead of equal access, according to a four-year research project. Half-hearted implementation of the scheme has […]
“Devastating” and “punitive” tax changes to the Motability scheme that will add hundreds of pounds to upfront payments to lease cars are “baffling” and “unjust” and threaten to “lock disabled people out of daily life”, say campaigners. They spoke out after chancellor […]
The Conservative government repeatedly failed to take action to protect disabled people in the early months of the pandemic, even though their risk of dying was twice as high as non-disabled people, according to a key Covid inquiry report. The report highlights […]
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has claimed that “an issue” with data is preventing it releasing figures that would show just how many disabled people have been affected by cuts to the Access to Work disability employment programme. Campaigners and […]
A report by the Covid inquiry into political decision-making during the pandemic proves that the “horrific” and disproportionate death toll among disabled people was not inevitable but the result of treating them as an “afterthought”, say campaigners. Four national disabled people’s organisations […]
Three disabled peers have called on the House of Lords to make it harder for disabled people to be “coerced” or subjected to “undue influence” before requesting an assisted suicide, through measures in a controversial bill. The trio were among a series […]
The Conservative government failed to ensure that vital information was provided to Deaf and disabled people in an accessible format in the early stages of the pandemic, the Covid inquiry has concluded. The second report of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry, which focuses […]
Next April’s cuts to out-of-work disability benefits are likely to have “devastating” consequences for disabled people’s mental health, and drive many into serious poverty, research into the impact of similar Conservative reforms has warned. The Labour government’s cuts are also likely to […]
It is “crucial” that the government is shown new research which highlights that “obscene” plans to cut out-of-work disability benefits are likely to have “devastating” consequences for claimants, say disabled activists. Disability News Service (DNS) reports today (see separate story) how research […]
The government has refused to say if it is secretly working on how to implement assisted suicide legislation that has yet to be approved by parliament, despite repeatedly claiming it has taken a “neutral” stance on the bill. The concerns emerged during […]