A disability group is calling for a pause in the campaign to ban plastic straws. The One in Five group wants MSP Kate Forbes to halt her Final Straw campaign temporarily while concerns are addressed for disabled people. It says paper, plant-based and metal alternatives are not always suitable and could even prove dangerous. The group wants the campaign to have disability advice in place for companies looking to replace plastic.
Last year, Kelly Knox became one of the first disabled models to feature at London Fashion Week. Together with BBC Radio 5 live, here Kelly investigates why people with disabilities find it so hard to make it in the fashion industry...
Thousands of people with mental health issues are trapped in a spiral of escalating debts, a charity says. The Money and Mental Health Policy Institute said that in 2017, some 23,000 people were being pursued while in hospital for mental health problems. Thousands more were in a similar position while receiving mental health crisis support in the community.
Charities have expressed concern after the government announced a new review of the potential bill facing social care providers for historic underpayment of staff. Providers have been urging the government to rethink enforcement action over back-pay for sleep-in shift workers, which the sector estimates could cost it up tp £400m and bankrupt many providers, for the past year, arguing that the government changed its National Minimum Wage (NMW) guidance in October 2016.
Disabled supporters say football still lags a long way behind cinemas, museums and other public buildings in terms of access and facilities. Going to a football match is a full-on sensory experience in which a drama with an unknown ending will unfold in front of you. The soundtrack is provided by the competing noise of two sets of rival fans, plus there's that sense of belonging to and being with your tribe. And of course there's even the smell of that welcome half-time pie wafting around the stadium.
Every person receiving Personal Independence Payments (PIP) will have their claim reviewed, the Department for Work and Pensions has said. A total of 1.6 million of the main disability benefit claims will be reviewed, with around 220,000 people expected to receive more money.
