Disabled people need to take the initiative and demand more accessible local sports facilities, a conference has heard. Stewart Lucas chief executive of Interactive, which works to increase the number of disabled people taking part in sport and physical activity in […]
Leveson offers new hope in fight against hostile newspapers
Newspapers should be forced to apologise, print corrections, or even face heavy fines if they print misleading or offensive articles about disabled people and other minority groups, according to Lord Justice Leveson’s report into press standards. Leveson’s long-awaited report could give […]
DWP reports suggest Work Programme has failed disabled people
Major questions have been raised over the government’s plans to support disabled people into work, after two long-awaited reports showed only about 1, 000 claimants of disability benefits found work through the scheme in its first year. The first Department for […]
Paralympic village hanging death must remain a mystery, says coroner
A coroner has been unable to say for certain how a member of Nepal’s Paralympic delegation came to be found hanging from a tree in the middle of the London 2012 athletes’ village. Man Bahadur Lopchan, a leading disabled activist in […]
Government picks Tory MP to chair care watchdog
The government is set to appoint a former Conservative party boss and MP to chair the social care and health watchdog. The Department of Health (DH) said today that David Prior was the government’s “preferred candidate” to chair the Care Quality […]
Phone app could ‘revolutionise’ mobility assistance
A new mobile phone app could be set to revolutionise the provision of assistance for disabled people across the transport travel, leisure and retail industries. The assist-Mi app is the brainchild of disabled entrepreneur Gary McFarlane, who describes it as “the […]
Passenger wins right to take airline discrimination fight to supreme court
A disabled air passenger has won permission to take an airline to the supreme court, to fight a legal ruling that leaves disabled travellers with no protection from in-flight discrimination. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is backing the case […]
Paralympians’ golden year crowned by BBC nominations
Three members of ParalympicsGB’s high-performing London 2012 team have been nominated for the prestigious BBC Sports Personality of the Year (SPOTY) award. Wheelchair athlete David Weir swimmer Ellie Simmonds and cyclist Sarah Storey have all made the 12-strong list, which was […]
Cameron’s EIA attack spells ‘danger’ for equality
Leading disability rights figures have warned that key parts of the country’s equality legislation are under threat from the government, after the prime minister announced that he was “calling time on equality impact assessments”. In a speech to business leaders at […]
Cool response to Harrington’s final review
The third annual review of the government’s “fitness for work” assessment process has received a cool response from disabled activists. The report was the third carried out by Professor Malcolm Harrington – and his last before being replaced – and concluded […]