• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • About DNS
  • Subscribe to DNS
  • Advertise with DNS
  • Support DNS
  • Contact DNS

Disability News Service

the country's only news agency specialising in disability issues

  • Home
  • Independent Living
    • Arts, Culture and Sport
    • Crime
    • Education
    • Employment
    • Housing
    • Transport
  • Activism & Campaigning
  • Benefits & Poverty
  • Politics
  • Human Rights
You are here: Home / Archives for Jess Thom

Jess Thom

Access to Work cuts risk ‘decimating’ disability arts movement, disabled artists and consultants warn

By John Pring on 29th May 2025 Category: Employment

Access to Work cuts risk ‘decimating’ disability arts movement, disabled artists and consultants warn
Listen

Cuts and reforms to the Access to Work system pose an “existential threat” and risk “decimating” the disability arts movement in Britain, disabled artists, companies and consultants are warning this week. As pressure grows on the Labour government over its Pathways […]

‘Access to Work showed me a working life was still possible… now Keir Starmer has put that at risk’

By John Pring on 29th May 2025 Category: Employment

‘Access to Work showed me a working life was still possible… now Keir Starmer has put that at risk’
Listen

A leading disabled artist has been forced to stop working by “devastating” and “destructive” cuts to the Labour government’s Access to Work disability employment programme. Jess Thom (pictured this week) has had to halt her work with Touretteshero after AtW cut […]

More than half of care homes inspected are failing, says regulator

By John Pring on 4th August 2022 Category: Independent Living

More than half of care homes inspected are failing, says regulator
Listen

More than half of the care homes inspected in the last month were found to be inadequate or to require improvement, but the care watchdog has refused to say if it is concerned by the figures. The figures show that of […]

Grenfell: Call for action over government’s ‘deplorable’ decision on evacuation plans

By John Pring on 19th May 2022 Category: Housing

Grenfell: Call for action over government’s ‘deplorable’ decision on evacuation plans
Listen

The government has caused outrage after announcing that it would not implement measures – recommended by the Grenfell Tower Inquiry – that would have ensured disabled people could safely evacuate high-rise blocks of flats in emergencies. The inquiry had recommended that […]

Government finally agrees to continue some free Covid testing for PAs

By John Pring on 31st March 2022 Category: Independent Living

Government finally agrees to continue some free Covid testing for PAs
Listen

The government has finally issued guidance that should allow disabled people in England who employ personal assistants (PAs) to continue to secure free COVID-19 tests for their staff, at least in some situations. The confirmation that some free testing for employers […]

Access to Work’s 12-week backlog, as DWP offers ‘work for free’ advice to PAs

By John Pring on 20th January 2022 Category: Employment

Access to Work’s 12-week backlog, as DWP offers ‘work for free’ advice to PAs
Listen

A disabled university lecturer says her job was put at risk by the failure of the Department for Work and Pensions to deal with a huge backlog in Access to Work (AtW) applications. Daisy Higman, a freelance voice teacher and theatre-maker, […]

Government has shown disabled people ‘active contempt’ during pandemic, festival hears

By John Pring on 21st October 2021 Category: Arts, Culture and Sport

Government has shown disabled people ‘active contempt’ during pandemic, festival hears
Listen

The pandemic has seen a “deliberate marginalisation” of disabled people by a UK government that has shown them “active contempt”, a leading disabled artist-activist has told a festival. Jess Thom told the disabled-led Neurostages arts festival in Glasgow that many of […]

Disabled people ‘treated as afterthought again’, as England heads into second lockdown

By John Pring on 5th November 2020 Category: Human Rights

Disabled people ‘treated as afterthought again’, as England heads into second lockdown
Listen

The government has treated disabled people who are at particular risk from coronavirus as an afterthought as the country heads into lockdown, just as it did in the early weeks of the pandemic, say campaigners. Disabled campaigners spoke out yesterday as […]

Anger and frustration over mayor’s ‘recovery board’ failure

By John Pring on 24th September 2020 Category: Activism and Campaigning

Anger and frustration over mayor’s ‘recovery board’ failure
Listen

The mayor of London is facing anger from disabled campaigners over his decision to set up a board of nearly 30 senior figures to oversee the recovery from coronavirus in the capital without including any members representing disabled people. The aim […]

Coronavirus: Employers of PAs given just two days to digest vital new ‘furlough’ guidance

By John Pring on 11th June 2020 Category: Employment

Coronavirus: Employers of PAs given just two days to digest vital new ‘furlough’ guidance
Listen

Disabled people who use direct payments and wanted to take advantage of the government’s coronavirus job scheme were given just two days to digest vital new guidance. The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme allows employers to claim for 80 per cent of […]

  • Page 1
  • Page 2
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

On the left of the image are multiple heads of different colours - white, aqua, red, light brown, and dark green - all grouped together, then the words ‘Campaign for Disability Justice. Sign up to support. #OpportunitySecurityRespect’
A photograph shows an audience raising their hands in a BSL sign. The words say: 'BSL Conference 2025. The future starts with us. Leeds 17-18 July. Be part of shaping the future of Deaf cultures and identities. Get 10% off with BDA10'

Access

Latest Stories

‘Disastrous’ cuts bill that leaves legacy of distrust and distress ‘must be dropped’

Four disabled Labour MPs stand up to government over cuts to disability benefits

Silence from MP sister of Rachel Reeves over suicide linked to PIP flaws, just as government was seeking cuts

Disabled people receiving care were ‘ignored by design’ during the pandemic, Covid inquiry hears

Disabled activists warn Labour MPs who vote for cuts: ‘The gloves will be off’

GB News says it has nothing to apologise for, after guest suggests starving disabled benefit claimants

SEND inspections find services in just one in four areas usually lead to ‘positive’ outcomes for disabled children

Disabled MP who quit government over benefit cuts tells DNS: ‘The consequences will be devastating’

Disabled peers plan to ‘amend, amend, amend, amend, amend’ after assisted dying bill reaches Lords

Minister finally admits that working-age benefits spending is stable, despite months of ‘spiralling’ claims

Advice and Information

Readspeaker
A photograph shows an audience raising their hands in a BSL sign. The words say: 'BSL Conference 2025. The future starts with us. Leeds 17-18 July. Be part of shaping the future of Deaf cultures and identities. Get 10% off with BDA10'

Footer

The International Standard Serial Number for Disability News Service is: ISSN 2398-8924

  • Accessibility Statement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Site map
  • Bluesky
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Threads
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2025 Disability News Service

Site development by A Bright Clear Web