The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has been criticised for apparently censoring a charity that tried to draw attention to a Scottish government scheme that makes Scotland’s public services more accessible to users of British Sign Language (BSL). DWP was […]
Independent Living
Hotel faces three investigations after disabled guest’s fire safety shock
A company is facing three separate investigations after a wheelchair-user discovered that the reception desk of the hotel he was staying in was left unstaffed every night. Mahmood Qureshi only made the discovery after he had already spent a night in […]
Council’s ‘wicked’ care cuts are ‘like social cleansing’, say service-users
Disabled and older people have compared a council’s plans to cut £5 million from its adult social care budget to “social cleansing” and have accused it of “treating people no better than animals in Longleat”. The comments were included in The […]
Disabled Tories launch investigation into impact of ILF closure
Disabled members of the Conservative party have launched their own investigation into the closure of the Independent Living Fund (ILF), following widespread concerns about its impact across the country. The Conservative Disability Group (CDG) has issued an appeal to former ILF-users […]
Evacuation app ‘could save lives’
Thousands of disabled people have signed up for a new mobile phone app that is designed to make it easier – and safer – for them to evacuate public buildings. The DirectMii app was the idea of disabled access experts at […]
Shopmobility closures start to ring alarm bells
Increasing numbers of Shopmobility services are struggling to stay open, according to the organisation that brings together many of the schemes across the UK. The National Federation of Shopmobility UK (NFSUK) spoke out after the only Shopmobility scheme in Birmingham said […]
DWP set to repeat ILF blueprint by transferring AA cash to councils
The government has announced proposals to end all new attendance allowance claims and transfer the savings to councils, but says its plans do not include scrapping disability living allowance for older people. The provisional local government finance settlement for 2016-17 includes […]
Council ‘is trying to push through care cuts without proper scrutiny’
A local authority is trying to push through millions of pounds of cuts to adult social care without allowing them to be properly considered by elected councillors, say disabled campaigners. Labour-run Merton council has just completed a consultation exercise among residents […]
Government’s new PIP proposals ‘will drive more into poverty and despair’
The government looks set to tighten eligibility for its new disability benefit, just two years after it was introduced. Activists this week described the move as another government attack that would lead to more disabled people being driven into poverty and […]
PIP applicant takes legal action over DWP’s inaccessible claim process
A disabled campaigner who has been refused permission to apply for a vital disability benefit in a way that is accessible to him has begun legal proceedings against the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Graham Kirwan has been told that […]