Thurrock bin crews trapped wheelchair user
20/02/2024 Bin crews in Thurrock have repeatedly trapped a disabled woman in her home by not returning her bins to the proper place, ombudsman finds. |
The joys of inclusive play
12/02/2024 Nathalie Esfandi, co-founder of the Fair Play playground, discusses the important role local councils can play in creating inclusive play environments. |
Children with SEND just ‘badly behaved’, councillors claim
07/02/2024 Warwickshire CC has launched an investigation after a video revealed councillors making disparaging remarks about children with special educational needs. |
MPs to debate free school meals extension
10/01/2024 MPs are set to debate the extension of the free school meals scheme today as tens of thousands of eligible disabled children miss out on extra support. |
Councils hit by improvement notices
20/11/2023 Oldham MBC and Oxfordshire CC have received improvement notices for their services for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). |
Government falling 'woefully short' on supported housing
10/11/2023 Vulnerable people are increasingly provided with poor quality supported housing and suffer ‘significant, detrimental’ impacts due to inadequate support, a report has found. |
London faces ‘chronic’ street clutter issue
18/10/2023 Central London has a ‘chronic’ issue with street clutter such as disused phone boxes and discarded e-bikes, a think tank has warned. |
Councils ‘wasted’ £46m on SEND tribunals
26/09/2023 Councils ‘wasted’ £46m on special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) tribunals in 2021-22, economists have reported. |
Charity calls for pavement parking crack down
25/09/2023 A charity for the visually impaired has urged the Government to do more to crack down on pavement parking. |
Newham to review hundreds of rejected freedom passes
07/09/2023 Following an ombudsman investigation, the London Borough of Newham will review more than 200 applications for freedom passes it rejected. |
Why we should be concerned with the SEN2 survey
05/09/2023 Gareth Copeland, education consultant, OLM Systems, looks at the SEN2 survey and argues there is a disconnect with what really counts. |
Government failing to protect disabled people
17/08/2023 The UK and Welsh governments are failing to protect disabled people from discrimination and the situation is worsening due to the cost-of-living crisis. |
DfT faces Court of Appeal challenge over kerb heights
16/08/2023 A disability campaigner has won the right to take her case to the Court of Appeal in battle over the Department for Transport's minimum kerb height guidance. |
Disabled people missing out on £24m every month
16/08/2023 Delays to Personal Independent Payment (PIP) reviews have left disabled people missing out on an estimated £24m every month, according to Citizens Advice. |
Housing Ombudsman orders Waverley to pay £13,000
11/08/2023 Waverley Borough Council has been ordered to pay nearly £13,000 after delays meant a resident was forced to install disability adaptations themselves. |
Pedestrian crossings lights could stay green longer
25/07/2023 Active Travel England (ATE) is considering introducing new guidance for councils that could increase the amount of time people have to cross the road. |
Inquiry on housing for people with disabilities launched
25/07/2023 MPs have launched an inquiry into how far the planning system is helping to deliver homes that are suitable for disabled people. |
Toolkit to help carers of disabled children launched
09/06/2023 The Government has launched a new toolkit aimed at helping families access funds belonging to disabled young people. |
Bristol council faces bankruptcy
25/05/2023 Bristol City Council has been warned it must take urgent action to avoid bankruptcy over the spiralling cost of special educational needs and disabilities. |
Care leaders warn social care system ‘run out of road’
26/04/2023 Body representing social services directors has published ‘roadmap’ for fixing care and says there is a consensus on what needs to be done but a lack of will. |
Safeguarding overhaul called for after ‘horrific’ child abuse case
20/04/2023 Council leaders have called for more powers to hold partners to account after a review into the abuse of children with disabilities at Hesley Group of homes. |
Council agrees to refund thousands in school transport costs
20/04/2023 Leicestershire County Council has agreed to refund a mother’s school transport costs after Ombudsman found flaws in the way it handled her application. |
Legal threat forces Devon CC to halt care cuts
17/04/2023 Devon County Council will halt its plans to cut adult day and respite services after the mental health charity Mencap threatened to take legal action. |
Counter-terrorism measures restrict blue badge parking, campaigners say
11/04/2023 A policy of restricting access to York city centre for motorists with blue badges has been slammed as ‘disproportionate’ and a human rights breach. |
Mencap threatens council with legal action over cuts
30/03/2023 A learning disability charity has threatened to take legal action against Devon CC over the council's plans to ‘severely cut’ adult day and respite services. |
Council welcomes £3.5m Morrisons fine after employee death
20/03/2023 Morrisons has been fined £3.5m following successful prosecution by Tewkesbury BC after the death of an epileptic employee in one of the supermarket’s stores. |
Autistic children face discrimination in care system
03/03/2023 Marginalised families with autistic children face serious problems in the health, care, and education systems, according to new research. |
Birmingham City Council to review respite care complaints process
02/03/2023 Birmingham is to review the way it responds to complaints about respite care for children with disabilities after it told families to appeal to the Ombudsman. |
New SEND plan fails on ‘fundamental’ issues, council chiefs say
02/03/2023 New plan to support children with special educational needs and disabilities fails to address ‘fundamental cost and demand issues’, council chiefs say. |
Charity calls for Newcastle e-scooter trial to be ‘closed down’
27/02/2023 A trial of an e-scooter rental scheme in Newcastle has come under fire for risking the ‘safety and accessibility’ of disabled pedestrians. |
Surrey council agrees to review SEND support
16/02/2023 Surrey CC has agreed to review its SEND support for children and young people following an investigation by the local government and social care ombudsman. |
Charity calls for ban on pavement parking to improve accessibility
09/02/2023 People with disabilities struggle to move around their communities due to ‘inadequate infrastructure’, a sustainable transport charity has found. |
Building inclusive schools
17/01/2023 School sector lead at ADP Architecture Claire Mantle looks at the role of architecture in making schools more inclusive and accessible. |
SEND pupils ‘unfairly excluded’, charity says
16/12/2022 Pupils with additional needs have said they are unfairly excluded from mainstream schools because of racism and a lack of understanding from professionals. |
Croydon council criticised for failing to provide respite care
09/12/2022 Croydon council has been criticised for failing to provide respite care for the mother of a disabled teenager because it would cost too much. |
Council fined £30,000 after disabled man left in unsuitable accommodation
24/11/2022 Birmingham council has apologised after a disabled man was left in unsuitable temporary accommodation for eight years. |
Council delay leaves disabled woman stuck downstairs
03/11/2022 A delay by Slough Borough Council in a decision about a stairlift forced a disabled woman to sleep, eat and wash downstairs, investigation reveals. |
Delayed EHC Plan highlights recruitment crisis
03/11/2022 North Yorkshire County Council’s struggle to recruit an educational psychologist highlights a wider problem faced by councils across the UK, Ombudsman says. |
Providers specialising in autism care warn of contract hand back
31/10/2022 Providers of adult social care have called for more support to be given to providers who look after individuals with a learning disability and autistic people. |
Council leaves visually impaired woman without support
20/10/2022 Leicestershire CC has agreed to improve how it prepares social care and support plans after a visually impaired woman was left without support for two years. |
Six million people on disability benefits to receive £150
20/09/2022 Six million people who are paid certain disability benefits will begin to receive a one-off payment of £150 from today to help with the cost-of-living crisis. |
Disabilities charity calls for ‘immediate increase’ in benefits
12/09/2022 A charity has called for an ‘immediate increase’ in disability benefits and for more assistance with energy costs to help families with disabled children. |
Council's disability support policy over a decade late
19/08/2022 A council in Lancashire was more than a decade late in introducing a policy outlining how it supports disabled people to use its services, Ombudsman finds. |
Councils receive £7.6m to help people with autism into work
18/08/2022 Twenty-four councils are set to receive £7.6m over the next three years to help over 2,000 adults with learning disabilities and autism move into work. |
Lambeth Council to make controversial LTN permanent
16/08/2022 Lambeth Council is proposing to make one of its Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTN) permanent and to introduce a number of improvements. |
Councils warned not to ‘forget’ about people with learning disabilities
11/08/2022 Local authorities must ensure people with learning disabilities are supported through the cost of living crisis, charity says. |
Disabled teenage siblings left without support for 18 months
04/08/2022 Liverpool council has apologised after two teenage siblings with significant needs were not provided with the support they should have received for 18 months. |
New homes to be more accessible for older and disabled people
29/07/2022 The Government will raise the accessibility standard for new homes following a consultation on the proposals. |
Council forced into U-Turn over care package
26/07/2022 Stockport Council has been forced into a U-Turn over plans to reduce a disabled woman’s care package following a successful legal challenge. |
Seven more Scottish councils make Adult Disability Payment available
25/07/2022 The Adult Disability Payment is now available in seven more council areas in Scotland ahead of national roll out on 29 August. |
Peers highlight lack of progress improving 'flawed' Act
11/07/2022 Little progress has been made in addressing the lack of coordination between the licensing and planning systems, a House of Lords committee has reported. |
Autistic Dorset boy left for two years without school
07/07/2022 Dorset Council to reform the way it provides alternative education for children, after a boy with special educational needs missed out on two years of school. |
Disabled benefit claimants forced to wait five months for first payment
06/07/2022 Benefit claimants applying for disability support are waiting around five months on average to be awarded their first payment, financial experts have revealed. |
Taxi drivers could be fined £1,000 for not supporting disabled passengers
04/07/2022 Taxi and PHV drivers could face fines of up to £1,000 if they fail to offer an accessible service to disabled passengers taking a pre-booked vehicle. |
Council apologises after failing to support autistic girl
30/06/2022 Suffolk council apologized after an investigation revealed that the local authority had failed to provide therapy for a child with special educational needs. |
Council chiefs call for ‘action’ to deal with spiralling SEND costs
29/06/2022 The number of children in England in need of special needs support has increased dramatically over the past year, local authority leaders say. |
Consultation for new SEND inspection framework launched
14/06/2022 Ofsted and the CQC have today launched a consultation on a new draft framework for inspecting local provision for children and young people with SEND. |
Disabled woman left without care for 12 months, Ombudsman finds
08/06/2022 Worcestershire County Council has been criticised after it left a woman who had had a stroke without appropriate care for a year. |
Council chiefs welcome £15bn cost of living package
26/05/2022 Local authority leaders have welcomed the Chancellor’s multi-billion-pound announcement of cost of living payments but called for a ‘longer-term solution’. |
Ombudsman reminds councils of Equality Act duties
19/05/2022 It is important that disabled people are placed at the heart of local services, Ombudsman tells local authority leaders. |
Council chiefs call for action against ‘scourge’ of pavement parking
18/05/2022 Local authority leaders have called on the Government to give councils the freedom to ban pavement parking in their own areas. |
Council apologises after vulnerable boy goes 14 months without education
28/04/2022 Cambridgeshire County Council has apologised after a vulnerable boy was left without education for over a year. |
One in four disabled people struggle to pay for food
20/04/2022 A quarter of working-age disabled people already struggle to pay for essentials like food and heating and will be hit by cost of living crisis, charity warns. |
Government announces £2.5m mobility service
29/03/2022 The Government today announced a new funding package to roll out a mobility service to help people unable to drive access alternative forms of transport. |
Minister confirms over 500 new accessible toilets to be built
24/03/2022 Funding announced in yesterday’s Spring Statement will help provide over 500 new Changing Places Toilets in England, ministerial disability champion confirms. |
Councils urged to create inclusive child play spaces
16/03/2022 Leading UK charities and industry bodies have called on local authorities across the country to create accessible and inclusive child play spaces. |
Families spend £14.6bn replacing missing disability support
07/02/2022 One third of families with disabled children have been forced into debt funding their children’s education, a new survey has revealed. |
Council apologises for SEND failures
21/09/2021 Suffolk CC has apologized to families who rely on special educational needs (SEND) provision after a report found the council was 'not performing well.’ |
Disabled people 'failed' by key policy areas, think tank warns
03/09/2021 The pandemic has deepened inequalities in health, income and employment for disabled people, a think tank has warned today. |
Council to review alternative education policy after investigation
20/08/2021 Manchester children who were out of education before the first national lockdown are to have their cases reviewed following an investigation of the council. |
Changing Places toilet fund opens for bids
30/07/2021 Councils in England are being urged to apply for a share of £30m to install Changing Places toilets in public places and tourist attractions. |
Government launches £1.6bn disability strategy
28/07/2021 The Government has launched a new strategy aimed at delivering accessible housing, easier commuting and better job prospects for people living with disabilities. |
Local councils need more help to support disabled residents
20/07/2021 Martin Usher explains why local councils need greater financial and care support disabled people in their communities. |
MPs warn care of people with learning disabilities is 'totally inadequate'
13/07/2021 Autistic people and those with learning disabilities are still experiencing 'unnecessary and intolerable' treatment at inpatient facilities, MPs have warned today. |
Government announces £2.4m to support charities during pandemic
31/03/2021 The Government has announced £2.4m of funding for thirteen charities that help autistic people, disabled people and those with a learning disability. |
Councils to receive £30m to boost provision of Changing Places toilets
04/03/2021 Councils in England will be able to bid for a share of £30m to install Changing Places toilets in existing buildings under new Government funding. |
Disabled people accounted for six in 10 deaths from COVID-19 last year
12/02/2021 Figures have shown that six out of 10 people who died from COVID-19 last year were disabled. |
Improving digital services for citizens with learning disabilities
20/01/2021 Stephan Liebrecht reviews how successfully the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham implemented a new app-based tool to increase the independence of people with learning disabilities. |
Multi-million funding boost to Disabled Facilities Grant
04/12/2020 Councils will be given an extra £68m to help thousands of disabled people make adaptations to their homes. |
Peers call for public service reform to improve resilience
13/11/2020 Peers have warned that ‘fundamental weaknesses’ in public services must be addressed in order to withstand future crises. |
People with learning disabilities six times more likely to die from COVID-19
13/11/2020 People with a learning disability were up to six times more likely to die from COVID-19 in the first wave of the pandemic than the general population, a report has found. |
Council apologises for leaving disabled dad in ‘mouse-infested’ house
10/09/2020 A London council has apologised after leaving a disabled dad and his family in mouldy, mouse-infested temporary accommodation for three years. |
Changing Places toilets to be installed in every new public building
20/07/2020 Toilets for severely disabled people will be mandatory in all new public buildings from next year, the Government has confirmed. |
Funding to help discharge people with learning disabilities from hospital
16/07/2020 Councils have been awarded £62m to help accelerate the discharge of people with learning disabilities and/or autism from mental health hospitals. |
Disabled women ‘disproportionately hit’ by lockdown
16/06/2020 The lockdown has hit disabled women particularly hard with many fearing missing out on medicine and struggling to get access to food, a new study has revealed. |
Carers of MS sufferers provide ‘35 hours or more’ of unpaid care a week
25/02/2020 Family members and friends who are providing unpaid care to loved ones with multiple sclerosis are ‘not getting the support they need’, according to new research. |
Tackling grant complaints
13/01/2020 Paul Smith outlines five ways that a local authority can reduce the number of complaints it receives about disabled facilities grants. |
Over 12,000 Blue Badges granted to people with ‘hidden disabilities’
02/01/2020 Thousands of people with hidden disabilities have benefitted from the Government’s extended Blue Badge scheme, new figures reveal. |
Council broke its own blue badge assessment policy, Ombudsman finds
24/10/2019 Sheffield CC has agreed to review its process for dealing with blue badge applications after an investigation revealed it was breaking its own policy. |
Special educational needs reforms ‘poorly implemented’, MPs say
23/10/2019 A generation of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities is being failed by the Government’s SEND reforms, MPs warn. |
DWP admits overestimating number of disabled people due benefit refunds
21/10/2019 The Department for Work and Pensions has overestimated the number of sick and disabled people due benefit refunds. |
Local councils aim to make communities 'seizure savvy'
02/10/2019 A new partnership to help local councils raise awareness of how to help someone having an epileptic fit has been launched. |
How to comply with the UK’s new public sector web accessibility laws
17/09/2019 Ross Linnett, founder and CEO of Recite Me, looks at the UK’s new public sector web accessibility laws. |
Cash-strapped councils struggling to support SEND children, auditors warn
11/09/2019 Auditors have warned that councils are coming under growing financial pressure as the demand for supporting school pupils with the greatest needs rises. |
Blue Badges offered to people with non-visible disabilities
30/08/2019 The Government has today implemented the expanded Blue Badge scheme which will now include people who have non-visible disabilities. |
DWP say ‘record’ levels of disabled peopled helped into work
08/08/2019 Over 36,000 disabled people were supported into work last year, a figure the Department for Work and Pensions says is a ‘record’. |
Ombudsman reveals ‘gaps’ in the SEN redress system
25/07/2019 An investigation has revealed gaps in the Special Educational Needs redress system which prevent it from being transparent and accountable to parents. |
Charity calls for ‘strong leadership’ to integrate support for disabled children
24/07/2019 Strong leadership is needed to streamline and integrate support for disabled children, according to campaigners. |
Kent CC warns of ‘dire’ £14m SEND deficit
11/07/2019 Kent County Council has warned it is facing a 'dire' £14m financial deficit for the cost of special needs education provision. |
Deaf children face ‘radio aid lottery’
11/07/2019 Local authority leaders have hit back against a claim that councils are failing to provide aids to deaf children. |
Shell is helping power the journey towards a circular paving industry with Shell Bitumen LT R, a new product for roads that uses plastics destined for landfill as part of the additives to make the bitumen.
Effective Energy Group is now offering its support to the 40 Local Authorities who have received a share of the £430m to deliver their projects on the ground by surveying properties and installing measures.
Dougie Belmore explains how one of the main interfaces between you and Bacs is about to change.