Ministers have used their party’s annual conference to reinforce the message that many disabled people claiming out-of-work benefits are “abusing” the system. Iain Duncan Smith told the Conservative conference in Manchester that his party had promised to “start dealing with” the […]
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Conservative conference: Concerns over Work Programme transparency
The government’s new programme designed to support disabled and other people into work is excluding voluntary sector providers at the expense of the private sector, a minister has heard. Lord Freud the Conservative welfare reform minister, was told that charities were […]
Paralympic torch’s 2012 journey to begin with four national flames
The Paralympic flame for next year’s games in London will be created in a ceremony in Stoke Mandeville, the birthplace of the Paralympic movement, 2012 organisers have announced. It will be created from four separate flames lit in the capital cities […]
International Paralympic Day: Sir Philip calls for end to use of ‘disabled’
The British head of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has defended his suggestion that the 2012 Paralympics should be used as a stepping-stone towards stopping the use of the words “disabled” and “disability”. Sir Philip Craven, the IPC president and a […]
Minister asks for information on abuse scandal
A Liberal Democrat minister is to investigate why the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has refused to prosecute any of the NHS staff accused of abusing 18 disabled people at a day centre. The CPS decided two weeks ago – for the […]
BBC set to apologise over inaccessible complaints system
A disabled man looks set to win an apology from the BBC after it admitted failing to provide him with an accessible way of lodging a complaint. John Cresswell-Plant was contacted by a local radio producer last year over a press […]
Judge rules disabled woman should not be allowed to die
Campaigners have welcomed a high court judge’s ruling that a “minimally conscious” disabled woman should not have her life-supporting treatment withdrawn. The family of the woman, who has brain damage and is known as “M” for legal reasons, had told the […]
Demand for Paralympic tickets is ‘unprecedented’
Demand for tickets for next year’s Paralympics in London has reached “unprecedented” levels, according to the 2012 organising committee. Between 9 and 26 September, 116,000 people applied for tickets to next summer’s games, applying for a total of 1.14 million tickets. […]
Mobility aids firms are using ‘unfair sales tactics’
Some companies that sell mobility aids are targeting disabled and older people with “unfair sales practices”, particularly when visiting them at home, according to a new report. The market study into mobility aids by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) says […]
Labour conference: Disabled activist shames ‘flustered’ Miliband
A prominent disabled activist has launched a highly critical attack on Labour leader Ed Miliband during a televised question and answer session over his failure to speak out on the government’s hated “fitness for work” tests. The session took place at […]