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Users of the Independent Living Fund (ILF) have launched a fresh legal bid to halt its closure, Disability News Service can reveal. Three ILF-users are threatening a second judicial review of the coalition’s decision to close the fund, a government-funded trust […]
Labour’s shadow minister for disabled people has suggested her party will replace the work capability assessment (WCA) if it wins power at the next election, after a report by disabled campaigners called for the “toxic” test to be scrapped. Kate Green […]
A report – backed by evidence from more than 1,200 sick and disabled people – tells politicians this week why the system of supporting out-of-work disabled people must be replaced. The Spartacus online network of disabled campaigners say they want their […]
The government’s new disability forum has begun its work with a marathon six-hour meeting, with ministers and civil servants hearing strong messages from campaigners on issues such as independent living, hate crime and segregated services. The Fulfilling Potential Forum will meet […]
A bus company has become the first national operator to sign a new charter that aims to ensure services are accessible to blind and partially-sighted passengers. First UK Bus has won praise from RNIB after joining local operators Reading Bus and […]
Disabled campaigners have vowed to fight on in the battle to save the Independent Living Fund (ILF), despite the government deciding to go ahead with its closure. Mike Penning, the Conservative minister for disabled people, told MPs today (6 March) in […]
Activists hope an historic House of Commons debate will prove a significant step towards forcing the government to assess the overall impact of its welfare reforms on disabled people, and to scrap the hated “fitness for work” test. Backbench MPs agreed […]
One of the UK’s two major disabled people’s representative organisations appears to have staved off the threat of insolvency. UK Disabled People’s Council (UKDPC) lost its last paid member of staff last summer, when its chief executive Jaspal Dhani was made […]
Staff working for the outsourcing giant Atos refused to comment this week as disabled activists protested outside their head office about the company’s involvement with the government’s “fitness for work” test. The protest near Euston station in London was one of […]
Activists have staged demonstrations at scores of locations across the country to highlight how a government contractor has “humiliated” disabled benefits claimants, and to call for the abolition of the “fitness for work” test. The national day of action saw an […]