the country's only news agency specialising in disability issues
6 days ago · Mental health bill ‘will not stop us being locked up’, say disabled activists. 7th November 2024. A long-awaited new mental health bill falls far short of the fundamental reforms needed to ensure full human rights for disabled people, and will not stop them being subjected to forcible detention and degrading treatment, activists have warned.
Ministers could merge disability benefits and want to cut future ...
Ministers are considering measures to cut rising spending on disability benefits, and the possibility of merging personal independence payment with universal credit, a new government green paper ha…
Work coaches confirm harsher new DWP jobcentre tactics
New disturbing evidence has emerged that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has introduced harsher rules designed to force more disabled people with significant mental distress to attend frequent face-to-face jobcentre meetings. Last week, a work coach told Disability News Service (DNS) that she and her colleagues were being “bullied ...
Evidence mounts of disability benefits white paper’s fatal flaws
6 days ago · Evidence is mounting that government plans to reform the disability benefits system are fatally flawed. Last week’s Transforming Support white paper appears to be slowly unravelling, with a growing number of serious concerns being raised by disabled activists, politicians, charities and the main union representing Department for …
Mounting evidence of assessment crisis, as DWP halts WCA …
6 days ago · Mounting evidence suggests a crisis within the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) systems that assess disabled people for their eligibility for benefits. Delays and backlogs across the assessment system have even led to DWP refusing to carry out any repeat work capability assessments (WCAs) for claimants already receiving universal credit ...
‘Nonsensical’ disability benefits white paper sparks return of ...
6 days ago · A high-profile network of disabled researchers are to return after a six-year pause to produce a report on a white paper that contains “nonsensical” government plans to scrap the work capability assessment. A key researcher with the Spartacus network told Disability News Service (DNS) this week that work had already started on a new report.
Disabled opponents of assisted suicide tell MPs of ‘high price’ of ...
6 days ago · Four disabled people have given evidence to a parliamentary inquiry to try to fight back against the well-funded campaign that aims to push parliament towards unsafe plans to legalise assisted suic…
Access to Work in crisis as figures show ‘massive’ waiting-list
6 days ago · The government’s Access to Work (AtW) scheme is in crisis, with new figures showing the number of disabled people waiting for decisions on their applications has more than quadrupled in a year. By 22 March, there were 20,909 disabled people waiting for a decision on their claim for support through the disability employment programme, compared ...
Research shows how tens of thousands of disabled staff are …
6 days ago · New research shows why tens of thousands of disabled people every year are being “managed out” of their jobs by disablist employers. The researchers concluded that the Equality Act was “failing to live up to its potential”, with many …
New charter calls for ‘bold’ action from government on disability ...
Oct 31, 2024 · Disabled people’s organisations and allies have joined together to issue a series of demands to the government that they believe would help to end employment discrimination against disabled people.