The decision to honour 10 Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) civil servants in the new year honours list has been greeted with anger and disbelief by disabled campaigners. The awards were made at the end of a year in which […]
Benefits and Poverty
Ministers hid secret death reports from their ‘fitness for work’ test reviewer
Government ministers failed to show secret reports into the deaths of benefit claimants to the independent expert they commissioned to review their much-criticised “fitness for work” assessment, new evidence suggests. A Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) response to a Disability […]
‘Absurd’ DWP accused over refusal to publish PIP statistics
Ministers have been accused of “absurdity and obfuscation” after refusing to explain why they do not publish statistics showing the number of assessments carried out on disabled people applying for their new disability benefit. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) […]
Mordaunt ‘working on urgent plans to reduce living costs’ ahead of WRAG cuts
The minister for disabled people is working on urgent plans to cut the living costs faced by disabled people on out-of-work disability benefits, she has told MPs. Penny Mordaunt was responding to warnings of the “human cost” of “bizarre” government plans […]
Spending watchdog calls for ‘wide-ranging’ review of benefit sanctions regime
The government has been heavily-criticised by the public spending watchdog for failing to investigate how its own sanctions regime affects disabled people and other claimants of out-of-work benefits. The National Audit Office (NAO) report says the Department for Work and Pensions […]
Damian Green faces fresh accusations of misleading MPs over disability benefits
The work and pensions secretary is facing accusations that he misled MPs about his government’s disability benefit reforms for the second time in a month. Damian Green was responding to an urgent question about last week’s Supreme Court ruling that the […]
Sanction death man’s sister turns to courts after coroner turns down inquest call
The sister of a disabled man who died after being left destitute by having his benefits sanctioned is to seek the help of the high court after a coroner refused for the second time to hold an inquest into his death. […]
Green refuses three times to apologise to Scotland for harm of benefit reforms
The work and pensions secretary Damian Green has refused three times to apologise or even acknowledge the distress and harm caused by his government’s welfare reforms and cuts, during an appearance before MSPs. Green became the first work and pensions secretary […]
Ministers set to force work-related activity on everyone in ESA support group
The Department for Work and Pensions is considering forcing all sick and disabled people on out-of-work disability benefits to take part in “mandatory” activity, its new green paper has revealed. The suggestion of compulsory activity is revealed in a single line […]
Coroner asked to explain failure to hold inquest into benefit sanctions death
Lawyers for the sister of a disabled man who died after his benefits were sanctioned have asked a coroner to explain why there was no inquest into his death. Gill Thompson has paid for the legal action through crowd-funding, raising more […]