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The much-criticised government contractor Atos Healthcare is openly blaming a shortage of doctors willing to work for the company for causing lengthy delays in assessing disabled people for their “fitness for work”. The recruitment crisis is now so severe that staff […]
The government’s first official figures on its new disability benefit appear to confirm anecdotal evidence about lengthy delays with claims, and how strictly the new eligibility criteria are being applied. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) report says that only […]
Two Conservative ministers have refused to consider exempting disabled people from the “bedroom tax”, despite new research that suggests many are facing eviction from their homes. Lord Freud, the welfare reform minister, and Kris Hopkins, the housing minister, were giving evidence […]
Tens of thousands of disabled people across England have been ordered to appear before magistrates because they are in council tax arrears following changes introduced by the government, figures obtained by the Labour party suggest. The estimates are based on responses […]
The “bedroom tax” is pushing disabled people in Wales into “complete despair”, according to the country’s leading disabled people’s organisation. Rhian Davies, chief executive of Disability Wales, spoke out after being accused by Harry Cole, a contributing editor to the right-wing […]
Huge delays to applications for the government’s new disability benefit have been caused partly by far more disabled people than planned being forced to attend face-to-face assessments. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) had intended that about three-quarters of claimants […]
There are more than 600 claimants of out-of-work disability benefits to every specialist government employment adviser, according to a new report by a committee of MPs. The work and pensions select committee, which published the report into the effectiveness of Jobcentre […]
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has given a guarded welcome to new figures that show a sharp fall in the proportion of disabled people who are turned down for out-of-work disability benefits. A second DWP report released on the […]
A disabled couple are challenging their council’s decision that their disability benefits must be taken into account when deciding the level of housing benefit they receive, in the latest legal challenge around the government’s controversial “bedroom tax”. Lawyers have been granted […]
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has caused outrage after telling senior civil servants that it was “business as usual”, despite the court of appeal ruling that its “fitness for work” test discriminated against many disabled people. The court ruled […]