Articles
Peers win more concessions on welfare reform bill
The government has been defeated by peers again on its welfare reform bill, this time over a proposal that was set to punish disabled people in social housing who have spare bedrooms. The bill returned to the Lords this week through the process known as “ping pong”, in which MPs and peers try to reach agreement over the final few amendments to a piece of legislation. Full story here.
News provided by John Pring at www.disabilitynewsservice.com
Disability Rights UK - get to meet them in the South East
Disability Rights UK is a new organisation formed from the recent merger of Radar, Disability Alliance, the National Centre for Independent Living, and SKILL. It is holding a series of regional events to introduce the new organisation to disabled people and their organisations across the country. This is an opportunity to find out about Disability Rights UK, to ask questions, and crucially, to get involved. Disability Rights UK aims to be a user-led organisation. Events in the South East are London 13 March and Southampton 14 March.
News provided by Disability Rights UK
One in five London DPOs faces closure over cuts
One in five disabled people’s organisations in London faces closure in the next year because of cuts to their funding, according to a new report. Inclusion London, which carried out the survey for its A Matter of Survival report, said the threatened closures “severely undermined” government policies on disability equality, including those on independent living and direct payments. Full story here.
News provided by John Pring at www.disabilitynewsservice.com
OfT takes action over ‘unfair’ mobility aids market
The Office of Fair Trading (OfT) has taken action against a leading stairlift company following a study into “unfair business practices” across the mobility aids market. In the wake of last year’s report, OfT launched an investigation into Acorn Mobility Services – which trades as Acorn Stairlifts – for potential breaches of consumer protection laws. Full story here.
News provided by John Pring at www.disabilitynewsservice.com
Disabled people experiencing ‘benefit scrounger’ abuse
A Guardian front page story reports that six of the country’s biggest disability charities are warning that the Government's focus on alleged fraud and over-claiming to justify cuts in disability benefits has caused an increase in resentment and abuse directed at disabled people. Some of the charities say they are now regularly contacted by people who have been taunted on the street about supposedly faking their disability and are concerned the climate of suspicion could spill over into violence or other hate crimes. Full story here.
News provided by www.scope.org.uk