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New moves to scrap the role of specialist disability employment advisers (DEAs) in some jobcentres risk “dismantling” the support available to help disabled people into work, campaigners fear. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) confirmed this week that a pilot […]
One of the companies at the heart of the government’s welfare-to-work programme is facing allegations that it introduced an “incredibly dangerous” cost-cutting move that could put the lives of many disabled benefit claimants at risk. Earlier this year A4E allegedly introduced […]
The Access to Work (AtW) scheme is only helping a minority of the disabled people it should be supporting in the workplace, according to a committee of MPs. The work and pensions select committee report also warns that a new rule […]
Ministers have been criticised by one of their own disabled advisers for their failure to produce a genuine disability employment strategy. Liz Sayce, who produced a report on employment support for disabled people for the government three years ago, spoke out […]
Disabled people are taking legal action in a bid to force the government to publish secret guidance that decides who is eligible for employment support under its under-fire Access to Work (AtW) scheme. Disability News Service (DNS) has run a string […]
A Deaf advice worker could lose her job because of a “ridiculous” ruling by Access to Work advisers, who rejected her application because they claimed the interpreters who helped her communicate with clients were “doing the work” for her. Lottie Powell […]
A disabled planning consultant has described how he is only able to claim vital support from the government’s Access to Work scheme for one year out of every two, because of “nonsense” cost-cutting rules introduced by the coalition. Philip Barton raised […]
The minister for disabled people has praised his government’s record on employing disabled people, with more than a quarter of a million more in work in the last year. Conservative Mark Harper said there were now more than three million disabled […]
A judge has told the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) that part of the agreement signed by out-of-work benefit claimants does not comply with the law, following a legal challenge from a disabled job-seeker. The comments by Judge Christopher Ward […]
The failure of Work Programme contractors to provide enough employment support to disabled people and other “harder-to-help” benefit claimants is “a scandal”, according to the chair of an influential committee of MPs. Labour MP Margaret Hodge said the government’s decision to […]