Latest News

Disabled people who struggled for hours to queue to pay their respects to the Queen at the lying-in-state in Westminster Hall say the government treated them as an “afterthought” and that its “discriminatory” arrangements were “a shambles”. Many disabled people travelled from across the country to reach the Tate Britain art gallery in central London, where they queued for hours for a wristband that only allowed them to join the “accessible queue” to view the Queen’s coffin hours later, and sometimes not until the following day. By the weekend, disabled people were reporting having to queue for up to eight hours (pictured) just to obtain a wristband.

Earlier this year the Department for Education announced £12 million of funding to directly support schools and colleges to work with pupils with SEND, through the new Universal Services contract. Another aspect of this work involves a three-year, £4.8m improvement to SEND improvement in local areas from a new consortium under the title “The RISE Partnership”.

The Together Trust has sent a letter to the Department for Education alongside 30+ leading disability organisations, including Young Minds, Scope, National Autistic Society and Together for Short Lives to say that future send reform should:

• Be co-designed with children and families
• Strengthen compliance with the law
• Ensure parental choice is retained
• Make post-16 support a priority
• Not squeeze children’s needs into funding bands
• Address existing gaps in the Green Paper

The Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) has launched a new scheme aimed at providing broadband access at a ‘social tariff’ to people who receive certain benefits. It is part of the Government’s approach encouraging private companies and others to support people most hit by the cost-of-living crisis. Internet service providers will verify, with customers’ permission, whether they are in receipt of a relevant benefit and therefore eligible for the extra financial support.

In the midst of considerable delays in the processing of new Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claims, the DWP has announced making an extension to existing PIP awards approaching their end of award date. Disability Rights has the full story.