Employment

September 26, 2014 0

Labour party conference: No ‘big bang’ for employment support, says Green

A shadow minister has pledged that a Labour government would do more to help disabled people into work, but warned that changes to the system of employment support would have to be “incremental”. Her comments and those of other shadow ministers during the party’s annual conference in Manchester suggest that a Labour government would

Employment

September 19, 2014 0

New plan aims for more senior civil servants

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The government has published a new plan that it hopes will see more disabled people achieving senior positions in the Civil Service. The Talent Action Plan includes measures designed to remove the “obstacles” which have limited the number of disabled people, and other minority groups, joining the Civil Service and reaching its highest levels.

Benefits and Poverty

September 12, 2014 0

Campaigner had benefits docked despite inaccessible workshop

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A disabled campaigner had more than £70 a week of her disability benefit stripped from her for three months because she could not attend a back-to-work workshop that a government assessment had already concluded would be inaccessible to her. Catherine Hale repeatedly wrote to Work Programme provider Seetec to explain that she would not

Employment

September 5, 2014 0

Access to Work: Scheme accused of distressing, penny-pinching incompetence

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The government’s Access to Work (AtW) programme is plagued by “penny-pinching”, administrative incompetence, and “rude” and “intimidatory” communication that is causing disabled people “immense distress”, leading campaigners have told a committee of MPs. The Commons work and pensions committee was hearing evidence for its AtW inquiry from three leading disabled figures who all receive

Employment

September 5, 2014 0

Access to Work: Stress of ‘endless requests’ is ‘tantamount to bullying’

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A Deaf youth worker says endless problems with the support he is supposed to obtain through the government’s Access to Work (AtW) scheme have made it impossible to focus on his job. Matt Talbot runs a youth forum for young disabled people in Norfolk, but much of his time at work over the last

Employment

August 1, 2014 0

Capita ignores reasonable adjustments, and then sacks disabled worker

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One of the companies responsible for assessing disability benefit eligibility failed to make its own workplace accessible for a disabled employee for more than three years, and then sacked her when she became too ill to work. Sharon Dickens is the latest disabled whistleblower to speak to Disability News Service (DNS) about the discrimination

Crime

July 25, 2014 0

Watchdog launches probe into Seetec fraud claims

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The public spending watchdog has launched an investigation into claims of fraud by a company paid to find jobs for disabled people. Only last week, MPs on the Commons public accounts committee quizzed Robert Devereux, permanent secretary in the Department for Work and Pensions, about the way his civil servants had dealt with the

Arts, Culture and Sport

July 18, 2014 0

BBC hopes plans will make it ‘top employer for disabled people’

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Performers and presenters have welcomed plans by the BBC to improve its representation of disabled people, both behind and in front of the camera. The broadcaster said its “ambitious” plans would “radically change representation on air”, and make the BBC a “top employer” for disabled people. Among the plans, it promises to quadruple on-air

Employment

July 18, 2014 0

DWP’s Seetec investigation under MPs’ spotlight

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The most senior civil servant in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has been questioned by MPs about an investigation into alleged fraud by a company paid to find jobs for disabled people. Concerns raised about Seetec in a Disability News Service (DNS) investigation were put this week to Robert Devereux, the Department

Employment

June 27, 2014 0

DWP silent over Access to Work lies

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The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has refused to explain why it lied about its use of figures that downplay the economic benefits of the Access to Work (AtW) scheme. Disability News Service (DNS) reported last week that senior civil servants were claiming that for every £1 spent on the scheme, the Treasury

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