"Shocking" new figures show that more than a quarter of disabled people who previously received support from the Independent Living Fund (ILF) in one local authority area have had their social care packages cut by at least half since it closed.
The first ever rationing of free hearing aids on the NHS comes into force in North Staffordshire today, with the rest of Staffordshire planning to mirror the cuts over the coming months The charity Action on Hearing Loss, with support from local and national deaf organisations and audiology professionals, has spent the last 15 months campaigning to reverse the decision made by the North Staffordshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to cut hearing aids for most people who need them. Over 5,000 Staffordshire residents have signed a petition calling for the cuts to be stopped.
A couple of days ago the papers, the TV news, chat shows and social media were up in arms about a couple of celebrities who had decided that it was all right to park in accessible parking spaces on the street when neither of them had the blue badges issued to disabled people who need priority parking due to their impairment.
After running a campaign to urge toy manufacturers to include disabled characters in their collections, Rebecca Atkinson started to wonder if the word "disability" might also need a positive makeover.
For the last couple of days I have been reading about the sad death of Michael O'Sullivan, the disabled man who killed himself after being found 'fit for work' by ATOS, and the coroner's report which criticised this decision. After all that reading, I have a question I need to ask about the whole situation.
Arthritis Research UK has called for the government to do more to end the suffering for the 10 million in the UK living with the devastating pain of arthritis. Earlier this month we launched our 'No Time To Lose' campaign, giving you the chance to get your local MPs involved to ensure they're fighting for a fair deal for people with arthritis during the government's Spending Review.
