The government has been forced to suspend its new spending cuts website after it allowed members of the public to post offensive comments about disabled people – and then failed to remove them. The Treasury’s Spending Challenge website received more than […]
Mencap’s hate crime coalition plans in disarray
Disabled activists have criticised plans for a new disability hate crime coalition that will be led by one of the big disability charities, with little apparent involvement from disabled people. Plans for the coalition appeared to be in disarray after disabled […]
Liberty rights still ‘being breached’ despite new safeguards
Disabled people are having their human rights breached because legal safeguards introduced to protect them from being wrongly deprived of their liberty have not been properly implemented, according to a new report. The Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS), introduced in England […]
Cameron’s digital champion calls for government action on websites
David Cameron’s “digital champion” has called on the government to shut down publicly-funded websites that are not accessible to disabled people. Martha Lane Fox, who was reappointed as the UK digital champion by the prime minister last month, made the call […]
Disabled people given extra time to volunteer for 2012
Disabled people who want to volunteer at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be able to start applying later this month – nearly two months earlier than non-disabled people. The 2012 organising committee (LOCOG) decided to give disabled people […]
Ombudsman finds death fine hospital guilty over care
A “damning” ombudsman’s report has found a hospital guilty of widespread failings in the care provided to a woman with learning difficulties and high support needs who died after a routine operation. The findings of the parliamentary and health ombudsman came […]
Health white paper: NICE given social care remit
The government is to hand responsibility for developing social care “quality standards” to the body that provides advice on drugs and other medical treatments. The move to shift some social care responsibilities from the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) to […]
Health white paper: Concerns over new role for GPs
Disability charities have raised key concerns over the government’s sweeping and controversial plans to reform the NHS. The health white paper, Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS, contains plans to give GPs more power, with groups of GP practices to be […]
Disabled peer secures victory over government on academy plans
A disabled peer has engineered a victory over the government in a Lords vote that could help guarantee the future of local authority support services for disabled pupils. Baroness [Rosalie] Wilkins was one of several disabled peers who raised serious concerns […]
Campaigners fear government will water down Equality Act
Campaigners fear that delays in bringing forward key elements of the Equality Act could mean the coalition government is planning to water down parts of the legislation. The government announced this week that much of Labour’s act – which streamlines existing […]