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New designs for a temporary House of Commons chamber will allow wheelchair-users who become ministers or shadow ministers to address fellow MPs from behind the historic despatch boxes for the first time. Disability News Service (DNS) has been told that the […]
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is mired in a dirty tricks row after an anonymous comment that mirrored tabloid scrounger rhetoric – and attacked a disabled former Labour MP – was sent from a computer just yards from its […]
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has admitted that 10 of the 49 benefit claimants whose deaths were subject to secret reviews had had their payments sanctioned. The admission came in a response to a freedom of information request submitted […]
The Conservative election victory appears to have delivered a heavy blow to long-term efforts to ensure greater representation of disabled people in parliament. Along with the retirement of disabled Labour MPs David Blunkett and Anne McGuire, there was defeat at the […]
A disabled Labour MP who lost her seat in last week’s general election has warned disabled people to “be very afraid” about the prospect of five years of a Conservative-only government. Dame Anne Begg had won the marginal Aberdeen South seat […]
An overall majority for the Conservatives, three party leaders quitting, David Cameron back in Downing Street, and a landslide for the SNP in Scotland. The response from many disabled people to the result of yesterday’s general election – once the scale […]
MPs have called on the government to set up a new independent body – modelled on the police complaints watchdog – to investigate the deaths of benefit claimants. The recommendation for a new organisation similar to the Independent Police Complaints Commission […]
Government ministers have broken their high-profile promise to slash all waiting-times for the new disability benefit to less than four months. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) refused to comment yesterday (Thursday) on the broken promise that – by the […]
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 […]
The minister for disabled people has apologised to MPs for the government’s botched reforms to a vital employment support programme for disabled people. Mark Harper, the Conservative minister for disabled people, was told by MPs that the changes to Access to […]