John Pring's Disability News Service - Week Beginning 25th May 2012

5/29/2012 07:37:00 am BenefitScroungingScum 0 Comments


  • A GP whose patient tried to kill himself after a “fitness for work” test is urging the government to introduce a way to allow doctors to report such cases to the Department for Work and Pensions.
  • GPs have piled new pressure on the government after unanimously calling for it to scrap its controversial “fitness for work” tests.
  • Campaigners are to ask a judge to declare that the government’s controversial “fitness for work” test is unlawful because it discriminates against people with mental health conditions.
  • The coalition appears to have ordered a lengthy delay to the publication of its cross-government disability strategy.
  • A judge has sparked concern after refusing to treat a three-year campaign of cruelty in which a disabled man was repeatedly beaten by relatives as a disability hate crime.
  • The sports body that represents Britain’s Paralympians has suggested that it is planning to take a more active stance around disability rights issues.
  • Organisers of the London 2012 Paralympics have put on sale a further one million tickets, as they marked 100 days until the games begin, and announced that the British band Coldplay would perform at its closing ceremony.
  • The lack of severely-impaired swimmers in the British team at this summer’s Paralympics could mean a missed chance to highlight sporting opportunities for other people with similar conditions, according to a leading athlete and activist.
  • Nine leading disabled activists have backed a new “contract for the future”, which lays out the 15 changes that need to be made to improve the lives of people with learning difficulties.
  • A group of thalidomide survivors from across Europe are hoping to share the knowledge they have gained from half a century of living with their impairments through a new online community.
  • Disabled activists are planning a high-profile protest that will highlight the inaccessibility of the public transport system, and demonstrate the problems that will be caused by the government’s cuts to disability living allowance.
  • A new disabled-led theatre company is setting out to hear the voices of some of the artists most often excluded and sidelined by the arts world.
For links to the full stories, please visit Disability News Service

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