John Pring

Transport

June 14, 2018 0

Motability calls police about disabled woman who failed to return car

A disabled woman who refused to return her Motability car after she lost her eligibility for disability benefits was threatened with arrest by police officers after the company reported the vehicle as stolen. Mary Jenkins* was approached by two police officers in the middle of a supermarket carpark on the Isle of Wight on

Benefits and Poverty

June 14, 2018 0

Atos assessor told gay man he was ‘defective’ and needed to be cured by God

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A doctor working for the government contractor Atos told a gay disabled man she was assessing for his entitlement to disability benefits that his sexuality meant he was “defective” and that God needed to fix him like a “broken” car. Atos was forced to pay Keith Morgan compensation after he was subjected to an

Independent Living

June 14, 2018 0

Young woman evicted from care home while critically ill in hospital

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A young disabled woman was told that she had been evicted from her residential home while she lay critically ill in hospital. The care home in Barking, east London, run by the company Sahara Care, had originally issued the eviction notice to Lakhvinder Kaur (pictured) in a letter on 6 April, just days after

Benefits and Poverty

The outside of the Royal Courts of Justice

June 14, 2018 0

DWP in disarray as fresh legal defeat could mean fourth trawl through its records

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The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) looks set to carry out a fourth major search through its records to find disabled people who have been unfairly deprived of benefits, following the latest in a series of damaging legal defeats. Today (Thursday), the high court ruled that DWP had unlawfully discriminated against two disabled

Activism and Campaigning

June 14, 2018 0

Call for national research as fears grow over loss of DPOs

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There is an “urgent” need for research into the hidden issue of disabled people’s organisations across the country that are being forced to close because of funding problems, say campaigners. Shaping Our Lives (SOL), the national network of service users and disabled people, spoke out this week after further “worrying” figures showing the falling

Employment

Eight women sit around a long wooden table

June 14, 2018 0

Disabled lawyers face widespread discrimination, say researchers

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Disabled people in the legal profession are facing widespread discrimination, with outdated working practices and a failure to provide them with the support they need, according to early results from a ground-breaking piece of research. The initial findings of the Legally Disabled? research project show that disabled people seeking jobs or working in the

Transport

June 14, 2018 0

TransPennine performs sharp U-turn on train access after protest threat

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A train operator that planned to run mainline rail services that wheelchair-users would not have been able to access has been forced to abandon its plans after it faced threats of a protest by disabled activists. Disability News Service revealed last month that TransPennine Express (TPE) was planning to introduce two extra trains, each with four

Independent Living

James Plummer sitting in his wheelchair in front of some trees

June 14, 2018 0

Landmark court ruling over leisure club’s inaccessible swimming pool

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A company that runs a leisure club on a luxury housing estate discriminated against a disabled man by repeatedly refusing to make the adjustments that would allow him to use the swimming pool, according to a court’s “landmark” judgement. James Plummer (pictured) has secured the legal judgement after an “epic struggle” that has lasted

Benefits and Poverty

June 7, 2018 0

Atos and Capita win PIP contract extension ‘because DWP is chained to a corpse’

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The government’s decision to extend the contracts of two discredited companies that carry out disability benefit assessments has been branded “appalling”, “shocking” and “a complete con”. The move has also been criticised by the Scottish government. Sarah Newton, the minister for disabled people, told MPs in a written statement this week that she planned

Benefits and Poverty

Sarah Newton speaking in the House of Commons

June 7, 2018 0

Confidentiality concerns over DWP’s pledge to videotape PIP assessments

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Campaigners have raised serious concerns about government plans to video-record all face-to-face assessments for personal independence payment (PIP). The move, which will begin with a pilot project, before being rolled out across the country, was announced this week by the minister for disabled people, Sarah Newton. Newton also announced that the government was planning

Author John Pring