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Cross-party MPs have warned that ministers’ refusal to introduce a key protection into their new fraud and error bill could see a repeat of the countless deaths caused by the austerity measures of past governments. The concern was raised by MPs […]
Government plans under controversial new legislation to give some Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) staff “morally dubious” powers to use force against benefit claimants have been derailed by peers. The public authorities (fraud, error and recovery) bill was set to […]
A Labour minister has dismissed a disabled MP’s warning that new anti-fraud legislation will open the door to “Orwellian levels of mass surveillance” of millions of people on means-tested benefits. Liberal Democrat Steve Darling, his party’s work and pensions spokesperson, told […]
Official figures prove that government claims that social security spending is “spiralling out of control” are “not based on any real facts”, say disabled activists. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) figures show instead that total spending as a proportion of […]
A new government bill would force banks to carry out “mass surveillance” of millions of innocent disabled people and other benefit claimants, MPs have been warned. The measures in the bill would force banks to examine individuals’ accounts for potential breaches […]
Disabled people are facing an “existential threat” after the government suggested it was planning a further assault on disability benefits spending, while stirring up hostility towards disabled claimants. In an interview with The Sunday Times, Rishi Sunak said he planned to […]
The information commissioner has ruled that Disability News Service (DNS) was not being “vexatious” when it tried to find out whether the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) tried to encourage a national newspaper to stir up hostility towards disabled people. […]
Disabled people who have taken part voluntarily in a government employment support programme have been more likely to find jobs than claimants who were forced into the scheme, research has found. An updated research report on the programme, carried out on […]
The head of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has dismissed evidence from scores of his own employees that his department is experiencing a “staffing crisis” and a “mental ill-health epidemic”. The “devastating” dossier was compiled by the Public and […]
Disabled activists have raised concerns about the human rights record of the outsourcing company that defeated Atos in the battle for a multi-million-pound disability benefits assessment contract. Disability News Service (DNS) reported last week that the government decision to award Serco […]