A new system of housing benefit is discriminating against severely disabled people, a charity has told a committee of MPs. The Muscular Dystrophy Campaign (MDC) has called for “urgent action” to reform the local housing allowance (LHA), which last year replaced […]
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Mixed reception for new welfare and training acts
Major bills on welfare reform and training – both of which will have a substantial impact on the lives of disabled people – have cleared their final parliamentary hurdles. The Welfare Reform Act and the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act […]
Channel 4 drama will ‘test the outer limits of disability on TV’
A “ground-breaking” new Channel 4 comedy drama series featuring a cast of disabled actors aims to “blow preconceptions of disability out of the water”. Cast Offs, a six-part “darkly comic drama series”, follows six disabled people who have been marooned on […]
Hate crime ‘must be taken seriously’
The criminal justice system must start treating the bullying of disabled people as hate crime, according to a prominent campaigner. Anne Novis, who leads on disability hate crime issues for the United Kingdom’s Disabled People’s Council (UKDPC), spoke out at the […]
‘Penny-pinching’ government criticised over lone parents
The government has been criticised for failing to extend a vital concession to some lone parents of disabled children as part of its welfare reform bill. The bill, which is completing its final stages in Parliament, includes measures imposing benefits sanctions […]
Green paper will push disabled people into the red, say campaigners
Leading disability organisations are to tell the government that measures in its care and support green paper would put disabled people at greater risk of poverty and social isolation. In their official responses to a consultation on the green paper, two […]
Problems with student support system are ‘outrageous’
Thousands of disabled students are facing lengthy delays in receiving the financial support they need to begin their university courses, the organisation that administers the scheme has admitted. The Student Loans Company (SLC) – which is administering disabled students’ allowances (DSA) […]
Charities ‘filling gap in services for young disabled people’
Disability charities are plugging the gap in services faced by disabled teenagers as they move into adulthood, according to a new report. The Rights of Passage report by New Philanthropy Capital a charity thinktank and consultancy, says many disabled young people […]
Second attempt to outlaw discrimination against ‘sectioned’ MPs
A shadow minister is making a second attempt to change a law that discriminates against MPs with mental health conditions. The Mental Health Act states that MPs who are sectioned under the act for at least six months must lose their […]
Cathedral service gives thanks for ground-breaking disability act
Hundreds of people have attended a service at Manchester Cathedral held to mark the 40th anniversary of the introduction of a “ground-breaking” piece of disability legislation. The service was held on 6 November, nearly 40 years after the House of Commons […]