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More than half of rail carriages are still not fully accessible to disabled people, according to a new government report. The Department for Transport (DfT) report – which mostly relates just to England – updates progress on its accessibility action plan, […]
The attorney general has dismissed calls from hate crime campaigners to ask the courts to increase the sentence handed to the killer who carried out the horrific murder of a disabled man last summer. Bijan Ebrahimi was beaten and kicked to […]
The UK’s largest coach operator has admitted that many wheelchair-users are still not able to travel on its vehicles, even though it has spent millions of pounds on a new “fully accessible” fleet. National Express claims that 97 per cent of […]
Two government departments are at the centre of a growing row over claims a minister ignored the advice of his own independent reviewer so he could begin the reassessment of 1.6 million incapacity benefit (IB) claimants. Professor Malcolm Harrington says he […]
A new paper that sketches out the first details of the government’s new disability employment strategy has been given a half-hearted welcome by experts. In a paper providing details of “discussion so far” on the strategy, Conservative ministers Esther McVey and […]
The government will base its new disability employment strategy on the provision of more personalised support to help disabled people into work, it announced this week. In a paper providing details of “the discussion so far” on the strategy, work and […]
Education secretary Michael Gove has been branded a hypocrite for attacking the segregation of female and male students in universities, while backing moves to increase segregation of disabled children and young people in schools. Gove spoke out after Universities UK – […]
A disabled peer has failed narrowly in his bid to force the government to include an explicit commitment to inclusive education at the heart of its children and families bill. Lord [Colin] Low’s amendment would have placed the commitment among the […]
The courts are finally set to provide a clear and definitive ruling on disabled people’s right to access wheelchair spaces on buses. Two county court cases which saw disabled people take action under the Equality Act against bus companies will now […]
A parliamentary debate, studies and surveys have this week exposed yet again the impact of the recession and the government’s austerity programme on disabled people. Concerns about food banks, a drop in the number of those receiving council-funded care and support, […]