Disabled people will face harsh penalties if they fail to comply with government efforts to help them prepare for work, according to a new welfare reform white paper. Launching a “root and branch reform”, work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith […]
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Welfare reform white paper: Plans could be ‘smokescreen for cuts’
Campaigners have raised serious concerns about the government’s sweeping new welfare reforms, with some fearing they could be a cover for further cuts to disability benefits. Among the proposals are harsh new penalties for those who refuse to comply with government […]
Minister ignores calls for DLA rethink
The minister for disabled people has ignored calls to reconsider plans to cut a vital mobility-based benefit from disabled people in residential care. The call from a leading disabled activist came after Maria Miller spoke about her government’s welfare reforms at […]
Campaign will sign up disabled surfers to fix the web
A new campaign is hoping tens of thousands of disabled people will help to fix the problems caused by inaccessible websites. Fix the Web hopes its scheme will enable access problems on up to 250 000 websites to be reported to […]
Doubt cast on impartiality of assisted suicide commission
A leading think-tank claims a new commission set up to investigate legalising assisted suicide will be independent and impartial, even though it is funded and chaired by leading pro-legalisation campaigners. The Commission on Assisted Dying will be chaired by the former […]
Inquiry will examine human rights ‘loopholes’ in home care
A major inquiry by the human rights watchdog will investigate the “loopholes” that could be depriving older people who use home care services of protection under the Human Rights Act (HRA). The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said people receiving […]
ALLFIE reassured on higher education finance, but concerns remain
Inclusive education campaigners have welcomed a government pledge that its plans for funding higher education will not exclude many disabled students from university. Last week, in its response to the Browne report on the funding of higher education, the government announced […]
Reforms ‘will drive disabled people from their homes’
The government’s package of housing benefit cuts and other housing reforms will drive many disabled people out of their accessible homes and force them further into poverty, a disabled peer has warned. Baroness [Rosalie] Wilkins told fellow peers during a Lords […]
Court’s decision could open door to more council cuts
Campaigners fear that a court’s decision to back a council that cut a disabled woman’s care package – despite assessing her as needing that support – could lead to other local authorities taking similar action. Elaine McDonald claimed that Kensington and […]
2012 homes legacy given lukewarm welcome
Nearly 250 new wheelchair-accessible flats and houses should be available for disabled people to rent or buy on the Olympic Park after the London 2012 games, the public body responsible for building the athletes’ village has revealed. More than a quarter […]