Tag Archives: disability

Disability cuts will have 'devastating consequences', says Scope charity chief

July 12, 2011   Carers, disability

“The government has not been listening,”

 

The chief executive of disability charity Scope tells Amelia Gentleman that the government’s not listening

 

Richard Hawkes, chief executive of disability charity Scope, says the government has not been listening to their concerns over cuts.

Richard Hawkes is no longer able to conceal his anger with the government as it goes ahead with a package of public service reforms and cuts that he feels will have “devastating consequences” on the lives of disabled people.

When he became chief executive of Scope 18 months ago, he was determined to ensure that one of the country’s largest disability charities did not merely criticise policies; instead, he wanted to engage constructively with the government in order to promote positive solutions.

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650,000 people face risk of losing benefits because of new disability test, claim charities

July 9, 2011   Carers, disability, ukcuts

650,000 people face risk of losing benefits because of new disability test, claim charities

 

By Daily Mail Reporter

Last updated at 12:43 PM on 9th July 2011

Charities fear that more than 650,000 people face losing their benefits because of a new disability test.

The government’s decision to introduce the medical assessments is designed to save more than £600 million a year.

But voluntary groups, including Mind, Disability Alliance, and Scope claim the tests – scheduled to be introduced from April 2013 – will hit hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people.

 
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Holt Hall is saved for children with learning difficulties and disabilities

July 7, 2011   Carers, learning difficulties

New lease of life as Norfolk County Council revamps Holt Hall
Steve Downes, Education Correspondent
Friday, July 1, 2011
6:00 PM

Holt Hall Environmental and Outdoor Learning Centre.

Holt Hall Environmental and Outdoor Learning Centre.

A Norfolk field studies centre is enjoying a new lease of life, just over a year after it was threatened with closure.
Holt Hall Environmental and Outdoor Learning Centre escaped the axe last year when Norfolk County Council looked set to remove funding from it and Wells Field Study Centre.

It was reprieved, and now the council has spent £43,000 to upgrade its facilities to make it more accessible and user-friendly for children with learning difficulties and disabilities.

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