Disabled activists have welcomed a new campaign aimed at improving the way the police handle hate crime against people with learning difficulties, but have warned that it could distract from wider efforts to address the issue. The charity Mencap this week […]
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Government ‘used Motability claims to stir up hostility’
The government has been accused again of stirring up hostility against disabled people and running a “deliberate smearing campaign”, after stories appeared in national newspapers about alleged abuse of the Motability car scheme. A Sunday Times “investigation” claimed friends and relatives […]
Older people’s care ‘a breach of human rights’
Older people who rely on care and support in their homes are having their human rights breached because of “major problems” in the system, according to the equality and human rights watchdog. People are being left in bed for more than […]
MP’s ‘prejudiced’ minimum wage claim sparks anger
A Conservative MP who suggested disabled people should be allowed to work for less than the minimum wage has been dismissed by campaigners as “ill-informed” and “prejudiced”. Philip Davies, the MP for Shipley, told fellow MPs that minimum wage legislation prevented […]
Peer’s new bill could unlock freedom to relocate
A disabled peer is set to introduce her own “portability” bill into the House of Lords in a bid to persuade the government to unlock disabled people’s freedom to move around the country. Baroness [Jane] Campbell says her new social care […]
Campaigners hope peers will secure changes to welfare reforms
Campaigners are hoping to persuade peers to make significant changes to the government’s welfare reform bill, after coalition MPs approved measures that could see hundreds of thousands of disabled people lose some or all of their benefits. The bill passed its […]
Council criticised over abuse claims ‘will learn lessons’
A council criticised over allegations of abuse at a private hospital near Bristol appears to have admitted that it made mistakes in failing to follow-up concerns raised by a whistleblower. Serious allegations of abuse by staff at Winterbourne View, a hospital […]
Miliband ‘suggests IB claimants are shirking their duties’
Labour leader Ed Miliband has horrified disabled activists by using a major speech to blame some incapacity benefit (IB) claimants for failing to “take responsibility” and “shirking their duties”. In a speech at a community centre in London – described by […]
Cash payments ‘lead to dignity, choice and control’
Disabled people who receive cash payments to buy their own social care services have told researchers how the new system has helped them achieve greater choice and control in their lives. The study into the use of cash – or direct […]
BBC faces fresh anger over assisted suicide ‘bias’
The BBC is facing mounting anger over its coverage of the assisted suicide debate after it emerged that it has broadcast five pro-legalisation documentaries and drama-documentaries in less than three years. In that time, the broadcaster has failed to produce a […]