Wheelchair dancer sues company over dance floor ban – BBC News
‘A disabled dancer is taking legal action after he was banned from an event over claims his wheelchair damaged the dance floor.’
BBC News, 29th November 2016
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Category: disabled persons
The UN Just Criticised The UK’s Record On Disability Rights – RightsInfo
‘The UK government’s welfare reform policy has resulted in systematic violations of the human rights of disabled persons, according to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.’
RightsInfo, 14th November 2016
Source: www.rightsinfo.org
With and without foundation – Bedroom tax in Supreme Court – Nearly Legal
‘The Supreme Court has handed down its judgment in the culmination of years of cases on the discriminatory impact of the ‘removal of the spare room subsidy’ – the bedroom tax. The outcome was mixed, even including a split judgment on one case, but in at least one respect, the bedroom tax regulations were held to unlawfully and unjustifiably discriminate against households with disabled members.’
Nearly Legal, 9th November 2016
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
Warning of potential rise in legal actions as adult care funding gap bites – Local Government Lawyer
‘The number of cases in relation to adult care could rise with local authorities struggling to cope with a funding gap, it has been claimed.’
Local Government Lawyer, 8th November 2016
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
UN: ‘Grave’ disability rights violations under UK reforms – BBC News
‘UK welfare reforms have led to “grave and systematic violations” of disabled people’s rights, a UN inquiry has said.’
BBC News, 7th November 2016
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Councils risk ‘legal action over care cuts’ – BBC News
‘Council cuts to care in England are so severe there is a real risk families may take legal action, experts say.’
BBC News, 8th November 2016
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Vulnerability, ‘significantly’ and equality duties – Nearly Legal
‘This was another in a number of county court judgments on section 204 Housing Act 1996 appeals which turned on the question of vulnerability after the Supreme Court decision in Hotak. In this appeal, the particular issues were whether the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) had been complied with, and then the approach to ‘significantly more vulnerable’.’
Nearly Legal, 25th September 2016
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
A compendium of vulnerability cases – Nearly Legal
‘Following on from our post on Mohammed v Southwark LBC, here are notes on a further three appeals to the County Court under section 204 Housing Act 1996, all related to decisions on priority need (or lack of it) through vulnerability.’
Nearly Legal, 12th September 2016
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
Disability hate crime convictions surge by 40 per cent – The Independent
‘Prosecutions for disability hate crimes surged by more than 40 per cent last year compared to the year before, official figures show. The Attorney General’s Office released statistics showing that the Crown Prosecution Service completed 941 prosecutions for such crimes in 2015/16 compared to 666 in the previous year. Convictions were also up by a similar rate, from 503 to 707, also around a 40 per cent increase.’
The Independent, 8th September 2016
Source: www.independent.co.uk
EAT: ‘reasonable adjustments’ can in principle include protected pay – OUT-LAW.com
‘The duty to make reasonable adjustments (RAs) to enable an employee who is disabled for the purposes of the 2010 Equality Act can in principle include continuing to pay a higher salary when that employee is moved to a lower grade role, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has ruled.’
OUT-LAW.com, 2nd September 2016
Source: www.out-law.com
Mother is spared jail as judge says looking after her five-year-old daughter left paralysed by crash is ‘a greater punishment than any court could impose’ – Daily Telegraph
‘A mother who killed a great-gradmother and left her own five-year-old daughter paralysed in a head-on horror crash has escaped jail.’
Daily Telegraph, 27th August 2016
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Woman gets £2m over near-drowning in school swimming lesson – The Guardian
‘A woman who won a judgment against her local authority after she nearly drowned during a school swimming lesson 16 years ago has been awarded £2m in compensation.’
The Guardian, 21st August 2016
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Council agrees to re-house disabled woman after Ombudsman investigation – Local Government Lawyer
‘A London borough has agreed to re-house a disabled woman and her family after errors were made in processing her housing application.’
Local Government Lawyer, 18th August 2016
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Councillor wins battle with parish over failure to provide reading aid – Local Government Lawyer
‘A parish council discriminated against a councillor with visual impairment by failing to provide him with reading aids to carry out his duties. That finding has come following six employment tribunal hearings in Bedford and Huntingdon between November 2015 and May 2016 concerning former Brixworth parish councillor Stephen Pointer.’
Local Government Lawyer, 3rd August 2016
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Loose Women cleared over Katie Price’s son swearing – BBC News
‘Loose Women has been cleared by Ofcom over an incident which saw Katie Price’s disabled son, Harvey, swear live on air.’
BBC News, 1st August 2016
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Hate crime guidance for prosecutors to deal with social media – Law Society’s Gazette
‘Social media communications will be the subject of new guidance issued to prosecutors as part of the government’s action plan to tackle hate crime following an increase in the number of incidents.’
Law Society’s Gazette, 26th July 2016
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
A part of inclusion? Disabled people and the right to a fair hearing – Cloisters
‘John Horan considers two recent cases that highlighted particular difficulties that disabled people face in obtaining a fair hearing before the courts. Both cases (Rackham v NHS Professionals Ltd and Galo v Bombardier Aerospace UK) provide a common-sense framework of considerations which a court or tribunal must bear in mind. The second, Galo, identifies the need for better training for judges and legal practitioners in Northern Ireland as to the requirements of disabled people.’
Cloisters, 19th July 2016
Source: www.cloisters.com
Criminal injuries compensation – Law Society’s Gazette
‘The courts have tackled the issue of compensation for criminal injuries inflicted before birth.’
Law Society’s Gazette, 25th July 2016
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
Severely disabled baby should be allowed to die, judge rules – The Guardian
‘A severely disabled baby who has been on a ventilator since he was 18 minutes old should be allowed to die, a high court judge has ruled.’
The Guardian, 22nd July 2016
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
