Ministers must learn the lessons of past welfare changes or risk a proposed shake-up of disability support leaving many in poverty, a charity claims. The Papworth Trust said 85% of claimants would have to cut back on basics if plans to replace Disability Living Allowance left them worse off. The poll of 2,000 people also found anxiety over the reassessment process.
A card has been released which aims to make it easier for people with disabilities to report hate crimes. It has been produced by Warwickshire County Council, Warwickshire Police and the Learning Disability Partnership Board. The "I Want to Report a Hate Crime" card aims to tackle prejudice and crime against someone with a disability. By showing the card, the person is able to communicate that they need help.
Scientists have stumbled on a potential new treatment for delayed asthma attacks which can occur several hours after exposure to allergens, a study shows.
The Liberal Democrats are to demand sweeping changes to the much-criticised employment support allowance (ESA), the chief benefit for Britain's 2.5 million sick and disabled people, providing a potential breakthrough for disability campaigners.
A woman who hit her head on the bottom of a swimming pool during a late-night party in Surrey has lost her claim for £6m damages in the High Court. Kylie Grimes, now 23, of Farnham, was left paralysed from the chest down when she dived into the pool in August 2006. The pool owner David Hawkins, of Compton Way, Farnham, denied liability and said he considered the pool safe. Mrs Justice Thirlwall ruled in favour of Mr Hawkins, describing the pool as "not unsafe for diving". Ms Grimes, of Stephendale Road, broke a vertebra below the base of her neck jumping into the pool.
People with dyslexia struggle to recognise familiar voices, scientists suggest. The finding is the first tentative evidence that small sounds in the human voice that vary between people are difficult for dyslexics to hear. Writing in the journal Science, the scientists say that many people could have some degree of "voice blindness".And by studying it, scientists hope to better understand how the human brain has evolved to recognise speech. Humans rely on small sounds called phonemes to tell one person from another.
