Tag Archives: disability
Welfare benefits: work till you drop, literally?
Drop the Welfare Bill instead!
Plans to make even seriously ill or disabled people work without pay, or risk having their benefits cut, have met with wide criticism. There will be no time limits on such work placements, to be introduced when the Welfare Reform Bill has been passed by the UK Parliament.
There has been much criticism of often inaccurate “work capability assessments”, carried out by private company Atos to decide whether sick and disabled people should receive employment and support allowance. Decisions to refuse this benefit are frequently overturned on appeal. But now, even those whose claim is accepted could (with a few exceptions) be ordered to undertake unpaid work if a job advisor thinks it appropriate.
Carers have problems with tickets for London 2012 Olympics
London 2012 Olympics diary: Danny Boyle promises a cinematic treat for couch spectators
By Jacquelin Magnay Olympics Last updated: February 23rd, 2012
The London 2012 Olympic Games will be an intimate experience for the four billion television viewers, say Olympic insiders.
Creative director Danny Boyle is using his vast film background to present the Games in a different tele-visual fashion so that it won’t just be a faithful recording of what goes on inside the stadium, but rather a cinematic storytelling that those on the couch can enjoy in its own right.
About 20,000 seats will be cordoned off during the ceremony for performers and athletes.
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Locog’s ticket scheme for disabled people and their carers has come under scrutiny – and found wanting – after staff gave out wrong information for more than seven months.
Carers had been told Olympic tickets bought through authorised ticket resellers in European countries would be eligible for the Ticketcare scheme, but, after meeting the required deadlines, at least one carer has been told, ‘whoops, bad luck’.
The Government is facing a showdown today re Welfare Reform Bill
The Government is facing a showdown with peers over its controversial shake-up of the benefits system.
The proposals have already endured a difficult time in the House of Lords, where peers inflicted a series of defeats on ministers over the reforms, which will cap benefits at £26,000.
But the changes imposed on the Government were reversed by MPs, and the Welfare Reform Bill now returns to the Lords for what could be a test of strength between the two Houses of Parliament.
