the country's only news agency specialising in disability issues
New government figures have revealed that the proportion of disability benefit claimants who died in April was 15 per cent higher than the previous year, providing fresh evidence of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on disabled people. The figures, secured […]
The government’s continuing failure to allow benefit appeals to be heard via video conferencing is discriminating against disabled claimants, say welfare rights experts. Many disabled people are being forced to ask for their tribunals to be postponed, because they are only […]
Disabled people and their organisations have raised concerns about the impact of new laws that mean passengers on public transport in England must wear a face mask or risk a fine. Disabled people who are not able to wear a face […]
The three companies that carry out disability benefit assessments for the government have made almost no progress in the last year on alerting local authorities to concerns about claimants whose safety is at risk, according to a disabled campaigner. Last year, […]
A key helpline that allows Deaf people and those with speech impairments to secure help with their disability benefit claims was out of action for at least six weeks, apparently without the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) even noticing. Campaigners […]
Jobcentre staff have told a Conservative MP of their “grave concern” about the healthcare professionals who carry out disability benefit assessments on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Anthony Mangnall, the MP for Totnes, learned of the concerns […]
A coroner told the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to take urgent steps to prevent further deaths after a disabled man with a history of drug misuse died two months after receiving a huge back-payment in disability benefits. It is […]
Ministers are poised to hand more than a billion pounds to discredited private sector outsourcing giants so they can continue to provide disability benefit assessments for another three years. The plans will apparently see a huge rise in spending on the […]
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has caused confusion after refusing to say if a newly-announced trial will test the idea of merging assessments for its two main disability benefits. Justin Tomlinson (pictured), the minister for disabled people, announced this […]
A disabled man took his own life after describing how a paramedic ignored the “sheer amount of pain” he was in during a face-to-face assessment, leading the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to remove his benefits and plunge him into […]