Latest news & events

Legal challenge vs PIP rules on people with mental distress

By winvisibleblog | 10 December 2017 | 2 Comments

Tues 12 December 2017 1pm – 2pm Vigil outside the High Court Royal Courts of Justice, Strand, London WC2A 2LL Facebook event Jointly called by: Disabled People Against Cuts, Mental Health Resistance Network, WinVisible (women with visible & invisible disabilities)  We are supporting a legal challenge by a woman with mental distress against the Personal Independence Payment … Read more

Benefit exam exemptions — guidance for GPs & others

By winvisibleblog | 10 December 2017 | 9 Comments

Read our leaflets with guidance for professionals on the rules you can quote in letters and reports, for your patient or client to be exempted from the face-to-face exams: ESA or Universal Credit — read or download and print here Based on the regulations built into ESA/Universal Credit on “substantial risk to health” — mental … Read more

Disabled woman won housing under human rights

By winvisibleblog | 22 November 2017 | 1 Comment

Update September 2022 — this ruling has been overturned.  Read more here Previous info: We want to publicise the precedent legal case of a homeless disabled woman we helped, who won the right to housing in 2016, as we’ve heard of women in similar situations where the Council is refusing to provide accommodation.  During the … Read more

Benefit tests — evidence to MPs

By winvisibleblog | 11 November 2017 | 1 Comment

We gathered our experiences of the benefit assessments, to send to the all-party Work and Pensions Select Committee of MPs.  They are looking into assessments because so many people who are refused are winning their case at appeal. We say:  Assessments for ESA and PIP are set up to deny claimants the disability benefits they need … Read more

Care home whistleblower: CCTV not the answer

By winvisibleblog | 01 November 2017 | 0 Comments

Read Eileen Chubb’s special report “Reality CCTV Check” from Compassion in Care. Click here: Reality CCTV Check Oct 2017 Rather than stopping neglect and abuse, CCTV in care homes can in fact cause care standards to fall, she says. Evidence suggests this is because staff feel under pressure to perform in communal areas where CCTV cameras … Read more

Sleep-in carers’ pay — my experiences

By winvisibleblog | 27 October 2017 | 0 Comments

In April 2017, the Employment Appeal Tribunal ruled that sleep-in care workers should be paid the same hourly rate for the whole of their time at work.  Until then, charities were paying nominal amounts.  Mencap paid a flat rate of £22.35 plus one hour’s pay (£6.70) for a nine-hour sleep-in shift. In May 2017, Mencap appealed … Read more

Work Capability Assessments — winning against reassessments…

By winvisibleblog | 11 October 2017 | 1 Comment

The government has announced that Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) claimants in the Support Group, and Universal Credit claimants with limited capability for work and work-related activity (equivalent of ESA) attending a Work Capability Assessment from 29 September 2017, will no longer need to be reassessed if it finds that they: have a severe, lifelong disability, … Read more

Stop Evictions, Campaigners Tell Edinburgh Council

By winvisibleblog | 07 October 2017 | 0 Comments

News from Mike, Edinburgh Coalition Against Poverty: Single mothers hit by the Benefits Cap, and their supporters, once more descended on Edinburgh Council on 3rd October.  [Photo shows a previous protest in May 2017.] Demonstrators protested outside the City Chambers on the Royal Mile and then all moved into the public gallery to support the … Read more

Obituary of Keith Armstrong and our tribute

By winvisibleblog | 28 September 2017 | 2 Comments

http://camdennewjournal.com/article/keith-armstrong-a-one-man-machine-fighting-for-people-with-disabilities Keith Armstrong, a one-man machine fighting for people with disabilities He inspired campaign that made buses, taxis and most public buildings accessible to wheel-chairs Camden New Journal 21 September, 2017 — By John Gulliver  HE was a one-man machine constantly campaigning for better disability rights. Confined to a wheel-chair as a victim of polio from childhood, … Read more

“Cookie rights” — Caxton Youth Organisation young women’s group

By winvisibleblog | 17 September 2017 | 0 Comments

  We went to meet the young women’s group at Caxton Youth Organisation in Westminster, who talked about the verbal abuse and discrimination they get, and their hopes and wishes.  Here’s what they wrote about our visit on 18 July 2017: COOKIE RIGHTS Written by Girls and Young women from Caxton Youth Organisation Why Cookie … Read more