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by Mark Glasgow
No Comments » Filed under: disability news, lifestyle, Paralympics, sport, travel

The Paralympics show sport has woken up to disability, but not the politicians | Peter Beresford

The Paralympics show sport has woken up to disability, but not the politicians | Peter Beresford

It’s as if some of our politicians want us to believe there are two disabled populations: one competitive, the other dependent This year looks set to highlight the contradictions facing disabled people in our society. On the one hand, they are facing increasing marginalisation and discrimination under “welfare reform” policy and public expenditure cuts. On the other, the official rhetoric presents them as the heroes of the forthcoming London Paralympics.

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by Mark Glasgow
No Comments » Filed under: disability news, finance

The Tory cuts that slowly hack away at disabled people’s lives | Jess Thom

The Tory cuts that slowly hack away at disabled people’s lives | Jess Thom

Disabled people like me depend on the health service. These relentless cuts threaten quality of care for anyone needing help Two years ago this week two important things happened that have had a big impact on my life. The first was finding out about a government scheme called Access to Work which provides support to disabled people at work

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by Mark Glasgow
No Comments » Filed under: disability news, travel

How can it be right to profit from disability?

How can it be right to profit from disability?

Disability living allowance is being replaced with personal independence payment assessments, and private companies are queueing up to cash in The Department for Work and Pensions has just announced the 10 private companies on the shortlist to deliver the personal independence payment (PIP) assessments, which everyone receiving disability living allowance will have to undergo from next year when DLA is replaced by PIPs. With 3.2 million captive customers, not to mention a monopoly on all new claimants, it’s not hard to see the appeal of the contract for profit-hungry companies untroubled by the ethics of slashing 20% from the money provided to disabled people to help them meet some of the basic expenses that living with a disability inevitably incurs. DLA is far from excessive.

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by Mark Glasgow
No Comments » Filed under: disability news, features

Charity chief quits over fit-for-work test

Charity chief quits over fit-for-work test

Paul Farmer says he has resigned to publicise his anger at an ‘inhumane system’ that is telling severely ill and disabled they are fit to work Here’s the moral dilemma that faced Paul Farmer, chief executive of the mental health charity Mind, last week: should he continue to sit on a government advisory panel, charged with scrutinising a policy that his charity believes to be inhumane? Or should he resign, publicising his anger at the coalition government’s refusal to listen to the charity’s concerns, and remove himself from the room where improvements are being discussed? Farmer chose to leave the panel responsible for monitoring the functioning of the work capability assessment (WCA), the new fitness-for-work test that determines who is eligible for sickness benefits, frustrated that the government was not paying attention to the growing chorus of alarm over the reliability of the test.

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by Mark Glasgow
No Comments » Filed under: disability news, finance

Why I’m resigning from the panel that scrutinises work capability assessments | Paul Farmer

Why I’m resigning from the panel that scrutinises work capability assessments | Paul Farmer

The DWP won’t act on growing concern about the effect of the reassessment process on people with mental health problems For the last couple of years, welfare reform has consistently been an important issue for people with mental health problems. And one aspect in particular has dominated: the work capability assessment (WCA)

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by Mark Glasgow
No Comments » Filed under: disability news, finance

Third of incapacity benefit claimants ruled fit to work

Third of incapacity benefit claimants ruled fit to work

Government claims figure vindicates policy – while charities say it is unfit for purpose and will cost millions in appeals More than a third of people who were claiming the old incapacity benefit have been told they are ineligible for the new benefit, employment and support allowance – a figure hailed by the government as justification for the decision to reassess all claimants, and by campaigners as evidence that the new system is unreasonably harsh. Disability rights groups pointed to the large numbers of people who are currently going to tribunal to appeal against a decision that they are fit for work, and stressed it was not surprising that a test designed to make fewer people qualify for disability benefits was finding fewer people eligible for them

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by Mark Glasgow
No Comments » Filed under: disability news

Disabled people face unlimited unpaid work or cuts in benefit

Disabled people face unlimited unpaid work or cuts in benefit

Mental health groups and charities attack plans drawn up by Department for Work and Pensions Some long-term sick and disabled people face being forced to work unpaid for an unlimited amount of time or have their benefits cut under plans being drawn up by the Department for Work and Pensions. Mental health professionals and charities have told the Guardian they fear that those who have been deemed fit to undertake limited amounts of work under a controversial assessment process could suffer further harm to their health if the plans go ahead. The new policy, outlined by DWP officials in meetings with disabilities groups, is due to be announced after legal changes contained in clause 54 of the welfare reform bill have made their way through parliament

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by Mark Glasgow
No Comments » Filed under: disability news, lifestyle, Maria Miller

Benefit cuts are fuelling abuse of disabled people, say charities

Benefit cuts are fuelling abuse of disabled people, say charities

Rising public resentment blamed on government focus on alleged ‘scrounger’ fraud and inflammatory media coverage The government’s focus on alleged fraud and overclaiming to justify cuts in disability benefits has caused an increase in resentment and abuse directed at disabled people, as they find themselves being labelled as scroungers, six of the country’s biggest disability groups have warned. 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.

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by Mark Glasgow
No Comments » Filed under: disability news, features

Honour for Jim Mansell, who brought learning disability out of the shadows

Honour for Jim Mansell, who brought learning disability out of the shadows

His decision to take a group of disabled children to the cinema changed lives for the better In 1970, there were 60,000 adults and children with learning disabilities living confined, institutional lives in long-stay hospitals. That autumn, a young student newly arrived at Cardiff University agreed to help take a group of children from the city’s Ely hospital to the cinema on a Saturday morning. From that point on, the hospitals stood no chance

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