the country's only news agency specialising in disability issues
The minister for disabled people has denied lying to an influential committee of MPs about the government’s much-criticised disability employment scheme. Sarah Newton’s claims about Disability Confident were exposed yesterday (Wednesday) just as her boss, work and pensions secretary Esther McVey, […]
Nearly 7,000 employers that signed up to the government’s much-criticised Disability Confident jobs scheme have promised to provide just 4,500 new jobs for disabled people between them, less than one per employer. The figures emerged as the minister for disabled people, […]
Representatives of disability charities have given evidence to MPs about the impact of government social security reforms on disabled people, without disclosing that they signed contracts preventing them from attacking work and pensions secretary Esther McVey. Senior figures from Shaw Trust […]
The government’s decision to extend the contracts of two discredited companies that carry out disability benefit assessments has been branded “appalling”, “shocking” and “a complete con”. The move has also been criticised by the Scottish government. Sarah Newton, the minister for […]
The disability benefit assessment system is being undermined by a “pervasive culture of mistrust”, fuelled by widespread claims that assessors are deliberately trying to prevent disabled people receiving the support they are entitled to, according to a committee of MPs. The […]
Nine MPs on a Commons committee are refusing to explain why they failed to ask the minister for disabled people about shocking figures that suggest attempted suicides among people claiming out-of-work disability benefits doubled between 2007 and 2014. The work and […]
The two outsourcing companies paid hundreds of millions of pounds to carry out disability benefit assessments have never met contractual quality standards on the reports their staff write for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), they have told MPs. Capita […]
Disabled party activists have expressed shock and outrage after the Labour chair of the Commons work and pensions committee suggested that employers should be allowed to pay some disabled people less than the minimum wage. Among the critics were two disabled […]
Disabled activists have called for a Labour MP to resign as chair of the Commons work and pensions select committee, after he called for employers to be allowed to pay some disabled people less than the minimum wage. Frank Field (pictured) […]
A committee of MPs is seeking fresh evidence about a disability benefit assessment process, but again appears to be trying to dodge concerns about dishonesty among the healthcare professionals who carry out the tests. Disability News Service (DNS) has provided the […]