News

New EHRC chair faces tough task to repair watchdog’s ‘damaged house’

Posted on 05. Oct, 2012 in News

The government’s choice to be the new chair of the equality watchdog faces a tough task to repair an organisation that is damaged almost beyond repair, according to the former chair of the Disability Rights Commission (DRC).
The government announced this week that its “preferred candidate” to take over from Trevor Phillips as chair of the [...]

London 2012: Disabled leader left ‘humiliated’ by opening ceremony treatment

Posted on 02. Sep, 2012 in News

A leading disabled activist was left “humiliated” and “incensed” after she was twice interrupted by London 2012 staff while watching the Paralympic Games opening ceremony to be told her guide dog was a health and safety hazard.
Sue Bott, director of development for Disability Rights UK (DR UK), had been given tickets to the event in [...]

Disabled peer set to make history in Lords after ‘uplifting’ decision

Posted on 03. Aug, 2012 in Blog, News

A pioneering disabled activist will make history this autumn when she becomes the first peer to be allowed to take a personal assistant (PA) into the main chamber of the House of Lords during debates.
Baroness [Jane] Campbell has been told by fellow peers – with none of them voting against the move – that she [...]

Mayor’s step-free access spending set to plunge to zero

Posted on 08. Jun, 2012 in News

The decision of London’s mayor to invest nothing in improving step-free access to the capital’s tube network for the next three years has been described as an “insult” to disabled and older people.
Accessible transport campaigners have discovered a Transport for London (TfL) business plan which shows that investment in step-free access in 2013-14, 2014-15 and [...]

Websites suffer in comparison with decent access standards

Posted on 20. Apr, 2012 in News

Leading price comparison websites are ignoring their legal obligations to make their sites accessible to disabled people, according to a new report.
The disability charity AbilityNet, which analysed the accessibility of five sites for its report, said disabled people should be a significant market for any retail website, because they “often have less cash and less [...]

Phillips to leave equality watchdog

Posted on 02. Apr, 2012 in News

The head of the equality watchdog, Trevor Phillips, is to leave his post after six years, it has been confirmed.
Phillips has faced repeated criticism during his two three-year terms as chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).
His decision not to seek a third term was revealed in a foreword to the commission’s new [...]

Special school to close after teenager’s padded room ordeal

Posted on 30. Mar, 2012 in News

The mother of a teenager with autism who was repeatedly confined to a padded room at his residential special school has spoken of the “remarkable” progress he has made since a court ruled his treatment was unlawful.
The 19-year-old was often prevented from leaving the so-called “Blue Room” at Beech Tree School, near Preston, which is [...]

Heathrow trial could provide quick fix for broken wheelchairs

Posted on 28. Mar, 2012 in News

A decision by Heathrow Airport to trial a new wheelchair repair service in time for the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics has been welcomed by young disabled campaigners.
The move was mentioned last week by BAA, which runs Heathrow, at a meeting of the all- party parliamentary group for young disabled people.
Two years ago, research by [...]

Boris refuses to test accessible version of cycle hire scheme

Posted on 19. Mar, 2012 in News

London’s mayor could be breaching his Equality Act duties by refusing to trial an accessible version of his cycle hire scheme, it has been claimed.
Boris Johnson launched his high-profile cycle scheme – which is sponsored by Barclays – in 2010, allowing anyone to hire a bike from one of hundreds of “docking” points across the [...]

Remploy factories have no place in modern world, says disabled MP

Posted on 16. Mar, 2012 in News

A disabled MP has backed the government’s decision to withdraw funding from the remaining sheltered factories run by Remploy.
The government announced last week that 36 of the 54 Remploy factories across the UK would close by the end of 2012, with the loss of more than 1,500 disabled people’s jobs, while there would be further [...]

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