Category Archives: disability
Experts Say Landmark Judgement Will Stop Benefit System Discriminating Against Disabled
Leading Lawyer Says Court of Appeal Ruling Confirms Government Has to Give Special Provision To Disabled People So That Human Rights Are Not Breached
Press release
Experts at Irwin Mitchell have welcomed a landmark judgement handed down at the Court of Appeal today which they say sets out clear guidance to ensure that disabled people are not discriminated against by the Government’s benefit system.
Three families challenged the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (DWP) which stated that local authorities could not provide housing benefit for extra bedrooms needed by four young disabled people who were living in private rented accommodation.
Elderly care petition could go to Parliament after gaining 130,000 signatures
Campaigners for an overhaul of the elderly care system hope to trigger a debate in Parliament after collecting more than 130,000 signatures on a petition to David Cameron.
By John Bingham, Social Affairs Editor
7:00AM BST 15 May 2012
The petition, supported by more than 50 organisations working with elderly and disabled people, demands urgent action to introduce a new system of social care.
It comes amid claims of “betrayal” after last week’s Queen’s Speech which included a commitment only to a draft bill to reform the system with no mention of how care should be funded.
A white paper is due in the coming weeks to set out some aspects of how social care could be reformed.
500,000 to lose disability benefit
Half a million people are set to lose disability benefits as the Government pushes ahead with plans to rid the system of abuse and fraud, Iain Duncan Smith says.
In an interview with today’s Daily Telegraph, the Work and Pensions Secretary says that he is determined to introduce radical reforms to disability benefits which will see more than two million claimants reassessed in the next four years.
Iain Duncan Smith says that the number of claimants has risen by 30 percent in recent years “rising well ahead of any other gauge you might make about illness, sickness, disability”. Losing a limb should not automatically entitle people to a pay-out, he suggests.
The cost of disability living allowance, which is intended to help people meet the extra costs of mobility and care associated with their conditions, now outstrips unemployment benefit and will soon be £13 billion annually.
Under the reform plans, the existing benefit will be replaced with a simpler “more focused” allowance and only those medically assessed to be in genuine need of support will continue to qualify.
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