A cabinet minister has been heavily criticised after again appearing to encourage national newspapers to run stories attacking disabled benefit claimants.
Last week, work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith was criticised by the work and pensions committee for “pandering to the Daily Mail” and sending out misleading press releases about incapacity benefits.
Duncan Smith protested that [...]
A report into one of the most controversial of the government’s planned welfare reforms has been given a cool reception by leading disabled people’s organisations (DPOs).
The review of the government’s plans to remove mobility payments from disabled people in council-funded residential care concludes that the move would be a serious breach of their human rights.
It [...]
Thousands of disabled people and other campaigners took part in a series of anti-cuts protests last weekend in more than a dozen towns and cities across the UK.
The rallies and marches took place under the banner of The Hardest Hit, the campaign organised by the UK Disabled People’s Council and members of the Disability Benefits [...]
Trials of the assessment for the benefit that will replace disability living allowance (DLA) show the test is worryingly similar to the government’s discredited “fitness for work” assessment, say campaigners.
The government has been trialling questions for the test it plans to introduce for its new personal independence payment (PIP).
But disabled activist Linda Burnip, who has [...]
Disabled people have reacted angrily after they were told they will no longer be able to drive vehicles worth over £25,000 through the Motability car scheme.
The announcement of tighter new rules by Motability follows a series of inaccurate, hostile and disablist media reports attacking the disabled people’s car scheme.
Earlier this month, campaigners complained to the [...]
Disabled people and disability charities have complained to the press watchdog after a national newspaper suggested there was widespread abuse of the Motability car scheme.
The Mail on Sunday (MoS) claimed that more than 3,000 families of people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) – which it called “naughty child syndrome” – were “abusing” the benefits [...]
The minister for disabled people has denied that the government exaggerated the growth in claimants of disability benefits in order to justify scrapping disability living allowance (DLA).
Maria Miller insisted that the statistics used by the government to explain the need to replace DLA with the new personal independent payment (PIP) and cut spending by 20 [...]
A government minister has held out hope that some of the most unpopular measures in the welfare reform bill could be removed or eased during its progress through the House of Lords.
The Liberal Democrat pensions minister Steve Webb was speaking to Disability News Service (DNS) after his own party members voted for major changes to [...]
Many “terrified” disabled people expect to lose their independence because of measures within the government’s welfare reform bill, disabled peers have told a Lords debate.
Five disabled peers described the fear, anxiety and even terror expressed by disabled people about aspects of the bill, particularly proposals to replace disability living allowance (DLA) with a new personal [...]
A government pilot project intended to empower disabled people and give them more control over their support has instead caused anxiety and fear among many of those taking part.
Right to Control (RtC) is being piloted in seven “trailblazer” areas across England, including the east London borough of Newham.
The scheme puts support from six sources – [...]
Proposed Government cuts mean disabled people will not have enough money for everyday essentials like food and transport, according to new evidence revealed today by charity Papworth Trust.
Disability Living Allowance (DLA) was introduced by the Conservatives in 1992 to help disabled people cope with extra costs they face daily, such as paying for someone to [...]
The government appears to have delayed publishing crucial evidence that undermines a key part of its controversial welfare reform bill until weeks after the legislation completed its passage through the House of Commons.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) report, which details the growth in the number of claimants of disability living allowance (DLA), appears [...]
Campaigners have welcomed the government’s decision to postpone the next parliamentary stage of its controversial welfare reform bill.
The bill has already passed through the Commons and a second reading debate was due to take place on 19 July in the House of Lords. But this debate has now been postponed until 13 September.
Many disability organisations [...]
A new inquiry into plans to reform disability living allowance (DLA) is set to increase pressure on the government to describe the true impact on disabled people of its controversial proposals.
The inquiry will be carried out by the Commons work and pensions committee, which is chaired by the disabled Labour MP Dame Anne Begg.
It will [...]