the country's only news agency specialising in disability issues
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has again broken its promise to stop harassing a traumatised benefit claimant while he waits to give vital evidence in a child abuse trial. Disability News Service (DNS) has been reporting on the continuing […]
A government climbdown over new disability benefit rules that were found by the high court to be unlawful and “blatantly discriminatory” demonstrates its failure to base its policies on sound research and evidence, say disabled campaigners. Esther McVey, the new work […]
The information commissioner has ordered the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to release documents that are likely to expose the widespread failings of two of its disability benefit assessment contractors. DWP has been attempting to prevent the documents being released […]
Campaigners have reacted furiously to the decision to appoint Esther McVey as the new secretary of state for work and pensions, calling it a “heartsink moment” and a “terrible insult” to disabled people. McVey (pictured), who served as both minister for […]
A nurse carrying out a disability benefit assessment fired questions at a disabled man’s wife while her husband was in the middle of a severe and prolonged series of epileptic seizures just a few feet away. Daniel Marshall, from Dorset, had […]
More than one in eight of all decisions to reject claims for personal independence payment (PIP) are eventually being overturned, new figures obtained by Disability News Service (DNS) have revealed. The figures* show that, of all the PIP claims rejected by […]
A court has ruled that a disabled woman should be awarded £5,000 compensation by the government contractor Atos, after a dishonest report by one of its assessors led to her being awarded the wrong level of benefits. Vanessa Haley, from Huddersfield, […]
The body that oversees the UK’s health and care regulators is considering taking action over their failure to punish nurses, paramedics and physiotherapists who write dishonest benefit assessment reports. The Professional Standards Authority (PSA) is to look next month at whether […]
The minister for disabled people has refused to approve two key recommendations made by the independent reviewer of its new disability benefit, which would have made it easier for claimants to protect themselves against dishonest assessment reports. Among the recommendations made […]
Campaigners have taken part in a vigil outside the Royal Courts of Justice, as the high court was hearing claims by a disabled woman that new benefit rules are “unfair and discriminatory”. Regulations that came into force in March mean that […]