Tag Archives: disability

25 reasons your MP must kill David Cameron’s Bedroom Tax

No thank you: A demonstration against bedroom tax in Newcastle Upon Tyne
No thank you: A demonstration against bedroom tax in Newcastle Upon Tyne

In the House of Commons, MPs face a critical vote on the Bedroom Tax – called by Labour.

The party is using ‘Opposition Day’ to bring forward a motion on the tax that calls for an immediate end to the policy.

It also asks the House to regret its “pernicious effect on vulnerable, and in many cases disabled, people” and calls the government reverse tax cuts for the wealthiest people instead.

Affordable homes facing demolition because of bedroom tax

Housing associations say change to benefit rules means tenants cannot afford to rent three-bed maisonettes

Rachel Reeves

Shadow work and pensions secretary Rachel Reeves says 660,000 vulnerable households are being hit by the bedroom tax. Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the Observer

Three-bedroom homes are being condemned to demolition by housing associations because the coalition’s bedroom tax has made them too expensive for tenants to live in, the Observer can reveal.

Despite a national property shortage, providers of affordable homes are unable to find people who can meet the cost of living in a home with an extra bedroom and are, in some cases, planning demolitions. In Liverpool, one housing provider, Magenta Living, has admitted that “with changes to welfare benefits there is very little prospect of letting upper three-bedroom maisonettes in the current climate”.

The preventative care revolution depends on closing the digital divide

Across the UK, 11 million people have poor digital skills and half those who are offline have a disability. Digital inclusion is now a matter of life and death

 

Over-65s account for half of NHS spending, but more than a third have never been online.

There’s a clear consenus over maintaining the great national treasure that is the NHS and preserving its ethos of providing care free at the point of delivery. But demand for health services is rising fast as society changes, so how on earth do we afford it?

It’s crucial that the NHS makes the best possible use of the funds available. Preventive care is key objective: by encouraging people to take care of their own health, pre-empting and preventing illness before it happens, the NHS can ensure its limited resources are directed towards those who need them most.

Can technology help with a preventive care revolution in healthcare? Many of us now have constant internet access and can find health information easily. I see it every day: patients use wristwatches, GPS devices and apps to track steps, heart rate, calories burned and other personal statistics.