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Friday, 03 February 2012 16:25
Government silent over adviser’s Unum admission
A disabled senior government adviser has admitted failing to tell civil servants about freelance work she carried out for an insurance giant that is set to make millions from the coalition’s incapacity benefit (IB) reforms.
Dr Rachel Perkins, chair of the government’s Equality 2025 high-level…
Friday, 03 February 2012 16:24
Welfare reform bill: Movement set for court showdown with government
The disability movement looks set for a legal showdown with the government, after the coalition prepared to force deeply unpopular measures within its welfare reform bill into law.
More than 20 disabled people’s organisations (DPOs) and other charities are now discussing a possible legal case…
Friday, 03 February 2012 16:24
Welfare reform bill: Anger as coalition ‘treats parliament with contempt’
The government has sparked fury among disabled people’s organisations and activists after taking advantage of a rarely-used parliamentary procedure to force through some of the most unpopular parts of its welfare reform bill.
Disabled activists had welcomed many of the changes to the bill secured…
Friday, 03 February 2012 16:23
Atos ‘failed to comply with government policy’
The company paid £100 million a year to test disabled people’s “fitness for work” has refused to cooperate with an “effective” new way of improving how disability benefit decisions are reached, MPs have heard.
The first independent review of the work capability assessment (WCA) by…
Friday, 03 February 2012 16:22
MP calls for new laws to protect dignity in airport security checks
An MP has called for new laws to protect the dignity of disabled people forced to undergo intrusive security checks at airports.
The Labour MP Tom Blenkinsop said many disabled travellers, particularly stoma bag-users, had been left humiliated after experiences at airport security checkpoints in…
Friday, 03 February 2012 16:22
Crash-tested train table could save lives
A revolutionary new table could save the lives of wheelchair-users involved in train crashes.
The table has been designed to absorb the impact of a wheelchair-user who hits it at high speed while travelling on a train, leaving them with only minor injuries.
Wheelchair-using train…
Friday, 03 February 2012 16:21
Railcard journeys treble in 15 years, but industry ‘still has more to do on access’
The rail industry still has more to do to improve access, despite increasing numbers of disabled people using railcards, according to a leading expert.
The Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) this week marked the 30th anniversary of the Disabled Persons Railcard by releasing figures…
Friday, 03 February 2012 16:20
Oxford Circus protest: Campaigners warn government of more direct action
Disabled activists who took part in a major protest over the welfare reform bill have warned the government that they are planning further high-profile direct action.
The protest was organised by Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC), the Disabled People’s Direct Action Network (DAN), and the…
Friday, 03 February 2012 16:19
Oxford Circus protest: Activists had ‘nothing left to lose’
Disabled activists have explained why they took part in a major direct action protest about the welfare reform bill that brought large parts of London’s West End to a standstill at the weekend.
About 20 wheelchair-users locked themselves to a chain across Regent Street, at…
Friday, 27 January 2012 16:28
Government adviser ‘failed to declare work for insurance giant’
A senior government adviser has failed to declare freelance work carried out for the insurance giant set to make huge financial gains through the coalition’s incapacity benefit (IB) reforms, Disability News Service (DNS) can reveal.
The adviser failed to declare the work carried out for…
Friday, 27 January 2012 16:27
Government admits failing to analyse results of DLA consultation
The government has admitted failing to carry out any statistical analysis of the results of its controversial disability living allowance (DLA) consultation.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) was accused earlier this month of misleading parliament and the public about the scale of opposition…
Friday, 27 January 2012 16:26
Passion pays off as DaDaFest scoops prestigious prize
The world’s biggest disability and deaf arts festival has won a prestigious annual award, a £10,000 prize, and a huge vote of confidence from regional business leaders.
DaDaFest 2012 has been named as the winner of this year’s Lever Prize, which will also see the…
Friday, 27 January 2012 16:24
Slight improvement in Access to Work figures
The government has welcomed new figures which show a slight rise in the number of disabled people granted funds to make their workplaces more accessible.
The increase in “new customers helped” through the Access to Work (AtW) scheme comes after the number of people receiving…
Friday, 27 January 2012 16:24
Budget airline faces legal action over website access
A disability charity has begun legal action against a budget airline over its failure to make its website accessible to blind and partially-sighted customers.
RNIB says bmibaby has failed to take action to ensure that customers who use screen-readers or cannot use a mouse can…
Friday, 27 January 2012 16:23
New work test stats ‘show reforms are working’
New figures show the number of disabled people found eligible for unconditional support under the much-criticised “fitness for work” regime has doubled since its introduction by the Labour government in 2008.
Figures released by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) this week reveal that…
Friday, 27 January 2012 16:23
New concerns over London 2012’s search for disabled volunteers
A leading user-led arts organisation has raised new concerns over the search for volunteers to take part in the opening and closing ceremonies of the London 2012 Paralympics.
Last week, disabled artists and performers warned that many disabled people would be put off by a…
Friday, 27 January 2012 16:21
Alarm after council scraps direct payments support service
Disabled activists are warning that local authorities could try to copy a council that has withdrawn funding from a direct payments support service.
Even though government guidance encourages councils to provide an independent advice and information service for users of direct payments, Hampshire County Council…
Friday, 27 January 2012 16:17
Ofcom criticised after clearing Channel 4 over Gervais hate routine
The broadcasting watchdog Ofcom has come under attack again after ruling that an offensive, disablist routine by comedian Ricky Gervais did not breach its broadcasting code.
Channel 4, which broadcast Gervais’s stand-up show Science last October, has refused to apologise despite the comedian repeatedly describing…
Friday, 27 January 2012 16:15
MPs’ survey provides new evidence of care cuts
Nearly two-thirds of local authorities in England have reduced their spending on support in the community for disabled and older people, according to a survey commissioned by a committee of MPs.
The survey, carried out for the Commons health select committee as part of its…
Friday, 27 January 2012 16:13
Disabled people ‘getting sharp end of the government’s stick’
It is “entirely obvious” that the government’s welfare cuts are “falling entirely” on disabled people and families with children, according to a leading academic.
Professor Paul Gregg, an economic and social policy expert at the University of Bath, told a TUC seminar on the government’s…
Friday, 20 January 2012 14:16
DLA reform: DPOs could boycott government consultations
Leading figures in the disability movement say they could stop cooperating with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) if the government’s welfare reform bill becomes law.
Disabled people’s organisations (DPOs) are becoming increasingly angry at the government’s failure to listen to their views, despite…
Friday, 20 January 2012 14:15
London 2012 criticised over opening ceremony volunteer call
The London 2012 organising committee’s appeal for volunteers to take part in the opening and closing ceremonies of the Paralympics has been criticised by leading disabled artists and performers.
The organising committee, LOCOG, announced this week that it was seeking 5,000 disabled and non-disabled volunteers…
Friday, 20 January 2012 14:14
DLA reform: Government concessions ‘are victory for activists’
The disabled activists behind a ground-breaking report that accused the government of misleading parliament over its welfare reforms say major concessions agreed by a coalition minister are a victory for disabled people.
As peers prepared again to consider plans to scrap disability living allowance (DLA)…
Friday, 20 January 2012 14:13
DLA reform: Disabled peers secure concessions from government
Disabled peers have secured a string of key concessions from the government on its controversial disability living allowance reforms (DLA).
Members of the House of Lords this week debated amendments to the welfare reform bill on government plans to abolish DLA for working-age adults and…
Friday, 20 January 2012 14:13
DLA reform: Dame Anne set to probe DWP’s Spartacus evasions
A senior disabled MP is to examine the government’s failure to respond to allegations that it misled parliament over its disability living allowance (DLA) reforms.
Dame Anne Begg, the Labour MP who chairs the influential work and pensions select committee, this week raised serious concerns…
Friday, 20 January 2012 14:12
DLA reform: Nearly half a million set to lose support
Government cuts to vital disability benefits will be even harsher than the coalition previously admitted, with nearly half a million people set to lose their right to disability living allowance (DLA).
The government finally published figures this week which show estimates of how its plans…
Friday, 20 January 2012 14:11
Disabled US actor highlights UK hate crime at Golden Globes
A disabled American actor has caused an internet sensation after using his acceptance speech at a televised US awards ceremony to offer support to the British victim of a disability hate crime attack.
Peter Dinklage was accepting his Golden Globe for best supporting actor in…
Friday, 20 January 2012 14:10
CPS barrister to be quizzed over hate crime sentencing failure
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is reviewing a barrister’s decision not to call for stricter sentences for three people who took part in a “degrading” hate crime attack on a disabled man.
The man, who has learning difficulties, was taped to a lamppost in Ashton-under-Lyne,…
Friday, 20 January 2012 14:09
Minister denies social care crisis
A health minister has refused to accept the existence of a huge gap between the care and support disabled people need, and the funding made available to pay for it.
Paul Burstow, the Liberal Democrat care services minister, was giving evidence to the Commons health…
Friday, 13 January 2012 12:15
Government gagging clauses ‘are threatening independent voices’
The former head of the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) has warned that the independent voices of disability organisations could be under threat because of gagging clauses attached to government contracts.
Sir Bert Massie, who chaired the DRC throughout its seven years, said it was “worrying”…