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 […]
DWP
Miliband causes chaos with answer on ILF closure
Labour leader Ed Miliband caused chaos this week after he was asked if he would save the Independent Living Fund (ILF) if Labour won power at May’s general election. Miliband told the audience that the government “should not be getting rid […]
Ministers change the story – yet again – on benefit-related deaths
Ministers have admitted releasing yet more inaccurate information about their secret inquiries into the deaths of benefit claimants. Last year, the Department for Work and Pensions stated, in a Freedom of Information Act (FoI) response, that it did not hold any […]
Evidence mounts in case against government’s sanctions regime
Disturbing fresh evidence emerged this week that the government’s strict sanctions regime is harming the health and well-being of many out-of-work sick and disabled people. A series of media reports and research publications, as well as an evidence session before MPs, […]
MP to quiz ministers over Gunnyeon’s Maximus WCA role
An MP is to ask ministers why a former senior civil servant had to wait just six months before working for a private sector company on two disability contracts he led on at the Department for Work and Pensions. Disability News […]
Access to Work crisis: Claimants face court action over unpaid bills
Disabled people are being threatened with legal action by a company exasperated by the government’s failure to pay invoices agreed through its Access to Work (AtW) scheme. One self-employed AtW claimant, Jane*, has told how ergonomic office furniture suppliers Back Care […]
Bedroom tax five win permission for Supreme Court appeal
Five disabled adults have won permission to take their legal battle against the government’s “bedroom tax” to the Supreme Court. The five – including Jayson and Jacqueline Carmichael, from Southport – were seeking the hearing after a “baffling” court of appeal […]
Campaigner’s Maximus job splits opinion among activists
The decision of a leading disabled campaigner to accept a highly-paid job with the US company taking over the controversial “fitness for work” test has split activists. Many accused Sue Marsh of betraying those who had followed her blog, Diary of […]
Concern as Maximus recruits former DWP ‘fit for work’ boss
The US company that won the lucrative contract to deliver the “fitness for work” test has been forced to defend its decision to employ the former senior civil servant responsible for government policy on the assessment. The decision of controversial outsourcing […]
ODI’s future questioned after DWP refuses to calculate spending cuts
The future of the Office for Disability Issues (ODI) has been cast into doubt, after the government claimed it was unable to calculate how much of its budget had been cut since 2012. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has […]