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The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) was yet again mired in confusion today (27 February) after the minister for disabled people failed to tell MPs that he had called a halt to most repeat “fitness for work” tests. The decision […]
Five disabled people who face losing their homes because of the much-criticised “bedroom tax” have vowed to fight on, after a “baffling” court of appeal ruling that the new housing benefit regulations are lawful. The court ruled today (21 February) that […]
New official figures show that the government contractor Atos Healthcare is 50 times more likely to recommend wrongly that someone is “fit for work” than it is to make an error in finding someone not fit for work. The government statistics […]
More than 100,000 disabled people had their unemployment benefits removed in just one year as a punishment for not complying with strict new government rules, according to official figures. The figures show that 104,200 disabled claimants of jobseeker’s allowance (JSA) were […]
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 […]
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 […]