Independent Living

Mike Adams talking to a group of people in a retail setting

August 16, 2018 0

Retailers back UK’s first ‘accessible shopping day’

Major retailers have backed the launch of the UK’s first “accessible shopping day”, which will see businesses promise to introduce new measures to benefit their disabled customers. Purple Tuesday, to be held on 13 November, is being led by Purple, the social enterprise formerly known as Essex Coalition of Disabled People. It has secured

Independent Living

Mike Oliver giving evidence to the council

August 9, 2018 0

Legal action threat over wheelchair service’s ‘bullying, delays and poor service’

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Wheelchair-users in Kent are threatening to take legal action over growing concerns about delays, poor service and even bullying and harassment by the company running the NHS wheelchair services contract in the county. Four disability groups – Kent’s Physical Disability Forum (PDF), the Kent charity Freedom for Wheels, Kent’s Wheelchair Users Group (WUG) and

Independent Living

August 9, 2018 0

MPs launch inquiry into care discrimination faced by LGBT service-users

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Disabled activists have given a guarded welcome to the launch of a new inquiry by MPs into the discrimination faced in accessing health and social care services by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities. The Commons women and equalities committee, which has launched the inquiry, said that the results of a government survey,

Independent Living

August 2, 2018 0

Charities help government with cover-up over blue badge changes

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Disability charities have helped the government cover up the reason it was forced to announce changes to rules that prevented thousands of disabled people with invisible impairments secure blue parking badges. The Department for Transport (DfT) won widespread praise this week for announcing changes to the disabled people’s blue badge on-street parking scheme, following

Independent Living

August 2, 2018 0

Sale of 17 Leonard Cheshire homes ‘makes mockery of user-involvement pledge’

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The disability charity Leonard Cheshire has been accused of making “a complete mockery” of its supposed commitment to service-user involvement after it suddenly told residents of 17 of its care homes that it plans to sell them to other care providers. The plan will see about one-sixth of its 104 residential services being sold

Independent Living

Outside view of the council's headquarters

August 2, 2018 0

County council crisis sparks fears for service-users

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Campaigners in Northamptonshire have raised serious concerns about the impact on disabled people of the growing financial crisis enveloping their county council. Northamptonshire County Council announced this week that it will need to find up to £70 million of savings in the current financial year, from a budget of about £440 million. And last

Independent Living

A group of people, including Sarah Newton, stand and sit around a large wooden table

July 5, 2018 0

Minister calls on her own government to act on ‘shared space’ street designs

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The minister for disabled people is calling on her own government to take “urgent action” to address concerns about the dangers of “shared space” street developments. Sarah Newton called for action in letters she wrote to both the minister for transport accessibility, Nusrat Ghani, and the housing, communities and local government secretary, James Brokenshire.

Independent Living

June 28, 2018 0

Research shows impact of ILF closure on London councils

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One in three London councils have cut the care packages of more than a third of disabled people who were previously receiving support from the Independent Living Fund (ILF), following its closure, according to new research. The user-led research shows a “postcode lottery” in how different local authorities across the capital have responded to

Independent Living

Sue Bott giving evidence to a parliamentary committee

June 21, 2018 0

Government’s social care funding failure ‘is terrible news for disabled people’

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Disabled campaigners have reacted with alarm to the government’s decision that it will not address the social care funding crisis until the end of next year, despite announcing billions of pounds a year extra for the NHS. Despite saying in a speech that ministers “know we need to improve social care”, prime minister Theresa

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