News Category

Conservatives’ £1 billion Motability VAT plan will decimate scheme and raise almost nothing, figures show October 15, 2026
The charity that oversees the Motability car scheme says that “deeply troubling” Conservative plans to save £1 billion a year by removing VAT exemptions could instead “dismantle” the scheme and would raise just a few million pounds in revenue. Motability Foundation’s boss, […]
John Pring
Leaked DWP ‘corner-cutting’ plans reveal changes to checks on assessments that will cause ‘even more risk’ October 15, 2026
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is secretly introducing changes to how it checks the quality of disability assessments, risking claimant safety and increasing the chance of dodgy reports slipping through the net, Disability News Service has learned. A member of […]
John Pring
Disabled peer uses AI tech to recreate the voice she used to have, as she delivers speech to House of Lords October 15, 2026
A disabled peer has broken new ground this week by using a version of her own voice – generated by artificial intelligence (AI) – to deliver a speech in the House of Lords. Baroness [Jane] Campbell used voice cloning technology devised by […]
John Pring
Information Commission orders DWP to release secret report that examined quality of PIP phone assessments October 15, 2026
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has been ordered to release a report that examined the quality of personal independence payment (PIP) assessments carried out by telephone, after one of them was linked to the death or serious harm suffered by […]
John Pring
New campaign aims to make media hostility towards disabled people unprofitable… now it needs your help October 15, 2026
Disabled people can now report media coverage that scapegoats and stigmatises them and contributes to the hostile environment many of them face in their daily lives, thanks to a new campaign. The Disability Media Action campaign was launched this week by Inclusion […]
John Pring
Review dismisses claims of widespread over-diagnosis across mental health, ADHD and autism October 15, 2026
Disabled campaigners have given a broadly warm welcome to a high-profile independent review into the prevalence of mental ill-health and distress, ADHD and autism in England, despite attempts by commentators and politicians to misrepresent its findings. The review for the government, chaired […]
John Pring
The Times ignores efforts to draw its attention to years of DWP deaths as it launches its own ‘welfare inquiry’ October 15, 2026
The Times has joined a long list of organisations and individuals that are ignoring the risks posed by cuts and reforms to the social security system for disabled people who rely on benefits to survive. The newspaper this week launched The Times […]
John Pring
Progress at last on disability hate crime, but prosecution figures still fail to reflect daily experience of hostility October 15, 2026
Police forces and prosecutors are both finally working to increase the number of disability hate crime prosecutions in England and Wales, as the number of court cases remains stubbornly low, despite a long-awaited rise. Disability News Service (DNS) has been reporting for […]
John Pring
Whately appears to agree social security spending is not spiralling after all… as Tories plan £36 billion-a-year cuts October 8, 2026
The Conservative shadow work and pensions secretary may finally have accepted that spending on social security is not “out of control”, just as her party says it wants to cut more than £36 billion a year from the “welfare” budget. The apparent […]
John Pring
Shadow minister says parents don’t ‘game’ SEND system… but Kemi says disabled adults do ‘game’ the benefits system October 8, 2026
A Tory shadow minister has said that accusing parents of “gaming the system” to secure support for their disabled children is “populist BS*”, just hours after his leader accused many disabled adults of doing exactly that when claiming benefits. The contrasting comments […]
John Pring