The first death was on New Year’s Eve 2011, a divorced woman in her early 50s who was found dead at her home in Scotland after taking her own life. She would later become known as Ms DE. She has never […]
DWP: The case for the prosecution
work capability assessment
Lobby aims to persuade MPs that DWP must First Do No Harm on assessments
Disabled activists are hoping to use a parliamentary meeting next month to persuade more MPs that action must be taken to prevent further deaths caused by the government’s much-criticised fitness for work test. The First Do No Harm lobby on 13 […]
Ideas to replace WCA with new assessment framework win some support
Disabled activists have delivered a generally positive response to fresh ideas on how to replace the hated fitness for work test with a new assessment framework that would restore “dignity and respect” to those unable to work full-time. The ideas were […]
DWP softens ‘threatening’ tone of universal credit agreement after claimant’s death
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has been forced to soften the “threatening” tone of the agreement that claimants of universal credit are forced to sign to receive their benefits, following a secret review into the death of a claimant. […]
Four opposition parties demand DWP answers over WCA deaths ‘cover-up’
Two opposition parties are writing urgent letters to work and pensions secretary Esther McVey – while a third is demanding an investigation – about a possible cover-up over documents linking the “fitness for work” test with the deaths of benefit claimants. […]
Atos assessor told gay man he was ‘defective’ and needed to be cured by God
A doctor working for the government contractor Atos told a gay disabled man she was assessing for his entitlement to disability benefits that his sexuality meant he was “defective” and that God needed to fix him like a “broken” car. Atos […]
Ministers’ silence over why WCA legislation is missing from Queen’s speech
Work and pensions ministers have refused to explain why plans for new social security legislation were dropped from last week’s Queen’s speech. Disability News Service reported last week how a Tory election promise to “dismantle” the work capability assessment (WCA) through […]
Election 2017: Mordaunt dodges questions over ‘misleading’ WCA pledge
The Conservatives have refused to comment on an apparently misleading public pledge by the minister for disabled people that another Tory government would “dismantle” the work capability assessment. Penny Mordaunt was speaking at a disability hustings event in Westminster that was […]
‘Fitness for work’ test has led to deterioration in mental health, say researchers
Disabled activists have welcomed “timely” new research that concludes that the government’s “fitness for work” process has caused a deterioration in many people’s mental health which they have failed to recover from, and has even led to thoughts of suicide. The […]
Coroner orders inquest into ‘fit for work’ man who collapsed after leaving jobcentre
About 100 activists and their allies have taken part in a protest and vigil to mark the death of a disabled man who died minutes after leaving a jobcentre… six months after a government contractor found him “fit for work”. Lawrence […]