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The most senior civil servant in the Department for Education (DfE) has told MPs that educating disabled pupils in mainstream schools is usually much cheaper and produces “similar or better outcomes” than using special schools. Susan Acland-Hood, DfE’s permanent secretary, told […]
A new report backed by wheelchair-users has called on the government to take a firmer grip of the inconsistent provision of equipment through NHS wheelchair services in England. The report, commissioned by The Wheelchair Alliance*, follows years of concerns about the […]
The children’s commissioner has said she has become “increasingly dismayed” by the number of disabled and other children with “complex needs” who are being deprived of their liberty by the state. In a report commissioned by the Department for Education and […]
Labour’s new work and pensions secretary has told MPs that she is open to the idea of her department being subject to a legal “safeguarding duty”, a move that could transform its approach to the safety of disabled benefit claimants. Liz […]
A train company has planned partial closures of 14 ticket offices across its network by “stealth”, say campaigners, a year after the rail industry was forced to back down over plans to shut nearly 1,000 of them across England. Disabled campaigners […]
Labour appears set for a serious disagreement with its own minister for disability, after apparently rejecting his advice about a disabled member who was prevented from attending the party’s annual conference with her assistance dog. Sir Stephen Timms wrote to the […]
Work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall has strongly hinted that she will not implement the last government’s proposal to replace disability benefits with vouchers, but she twice failed to make a promise to that effect to MPs. A public consultation that […]
A string of disabled people’s organisations and disabled activists have delivered powerful statements opposing a bill that would legalise assisted suicide, just two weeks before it is due to be debated and voted on by MPs. Labour’s Kim Leadbeater finally published […]
Relatives of disabled people whose deaths were caused by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have welcomed the decision by a committee of MPs to relaunch an inquiry into the department’s years of safeguarding failures. The Commons work and pensions […]
A major supermarket chain has been accused of discrimination after installing chilled food cabinets with inaccessible doors, preventing many of its disabled customers accessing fresh produce. Co-op has installed the inaccessible chiller cabinets in at least two of its stores, but […]