“The amount of people I’ve seen out in wheelchairs in nightclubs, I could count them – it’s under 10.” This is the dispiriting assessment of nightclub accessibility from Cardiff student Alex Kingdom, a wheelchair user who loves to go out to listen to music with his mates. However, he knows all too well that, for […]
A Northern Ireland council could face legal action over the level of disabled access to a new sports facility. Newry, Down and Mourne District Council recently opened a new “tennis bubble” on the site of Our Lady’s Grammar School in Newry. Funding for the bubble, which covers two of four tennis courts owned by the school, […]
A LEADING disabled activist has slammed council claims of progress on ‘mitigation measures’ for disabled people who have been effectively barred from the city centre by a blue badge ban as ‘pathetic’. Flick Williams, a visually-impaired wheelchair user and retired access consultant who is a part of the ‘Reverse the Ban’ movement said: “They are […]
The number of disabled people citing fan attitudes as a barrier to attending live sport has almost doubled in a year, according to charity Level Playing Field. The organisation campaigns for equal access to sport for disabled fans. In its annual survey, it also found a rise in people saying there was a lack of […]
Para-Olympian Ellie Robinson MBE will help celebrate the achievements of disabled people in West Northamptonshire during the International Day of People with Disabilities (IDPWD) in December. Back for the third year, this year’s event is themed around ‘not all disabilities are visible.’ Alongside her coach Andy Sharp of Northampton Swimming Club, Ms Robinson will feature […]
Thousands of disabled people have had their benefits paused during extended hospital stays under a rule charities say penalises the most vulnerable. It comes after a court case was withdrawn which had been set to challenge the lawfulness of the so-called hospitalisation rule. One affected family lost more than £5,000 in benefit payments while their disabled son […]
An MP has criticised the Government after a law change that would force railways stations to meet disability access standards was voted down in Parliament. Lib Dem MP Tim Farron put forward an amendment to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, which would legislate to make all UK railway stations meet disability access standards. However […]
Category of ‘mental retardation’ in NHS Digital’s annual statistics demeans patients, campaigners say The NHS has been criticised for using outdated and offensive terminology in its official statistics when describing people with intellectual disabilities. NHS Digital publishes annual statistics that record all admissions, appointments and attendances for all patients at NHS hospitals across England and is broken down by […]
Government failing disabled people who are ‘on the brink of a disaster due to cost of living crisis, says charity Scope is calling for the government to offer direct financial support to disabled people immediately The government is failing disabled people over the cost of living and energy crisis, a charity has said. Disability equality charity Scope […]
‘We expect the police to fully investigate these hateful attacks and make sure the cowards who commit them feel the full force of the law’ ‘ Hate crimes against disabled people have soared to shocking levels – while only a tiny proportion of suspects have been charged. Between April 2021 and March 2022, at least […]