John Pring's Disability News Round Up - 21/12/2012

12/24/2012 09:05:00 am BenefitScroungingScum 0 Comments

• The government is facing mounting outrage after planning to restrict eligibility for support for people with the highest mobility needs, without any warning or consultation – and then lying about what it had done.
• An MP who confronted the prime minister with a suicide note written by a disabled man who killed himself after being found “fit for work” has warned that other such tragedies are likely.
• Activists are hoping that a new petition – backed by a campaigning disabled comedian – could finally force the government to assess the overall impact of its programme of cuts and reforms to disability benefits and services.
• The government has confirmed it is to close the Independent Living Fund in April 2015, and has admitted the decision will have a “potential negative impact” on disabled people supported by the fund.
• Thalidomide survivors have welcomed a 10-year, £80 million government grant that will help fund the increasing support needs they face as they grow older.
• A council has been accused of “censorship” after banning disabled actors from performing a play that highlights the harm caused by the government’s much-criticised “fitness for work” contractor Atos Healthcare.
• Britain’s Paralympians have been rewarded for their success at London 2012 with a huge leap in funding to take them through to the next Paralympic Games in Rio in four years’ time.
• Britain’s track and field Paralympians will have the chance to recreate this summer’s golden exploits, after the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) announced that London would host the 2017 IPC World Athletics Championships in the Olympic Stadium.
• Experts fear vital accessibility standards could be under threat because of a government assault on housing red tape.
• The prospect of tougher laws on disability hate crime has moved a step closer, after the government’s advisers on law reform launched a review of how current legislation was working.