Contents
DWP ‘shamefully’ failed to track its response to secret advice on cutting suicides. 1
Shock and anger after DWP imposes gagging order on disabled members of its new advice panel 7
UN will still report on Labour’s attacks on rights, despite Trump-fuelled funding crisis. 11
Other disability-related stories covered by mainstream media this week. 16
DWP ‘shamefully’ failed to track its response to secret advice on cutting suicides
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has “shamefully” failed to keep a record of how it responded to a secret report that called for it to reduce suicides of benefit claimants and other “very bad cases”.
The report was written by Conservative peer Baroness [Lucy] Neville-Rolfe, who made 11 key recommendations for DWP on how it could “minimise bad cases” and cut the number of suicides.
Among her recommendations was a new register of “very bad cases”; a review of the department’s safeguarding system, including an analysis of its effectiveness in reducing suicides; and a review of the internal process review system.
Disability News Service (DNS) was only able to obtain the nine-page report following pressure from the Information Commissioner’s Office, after DWP’s freedom of information (FoI) team initially refused to even acknowledge a request to see the document.
But when DNS submitted a follow-up request to ask which of the 11 recommendations it implemented, DWP said such a check would take one of its civil servants more than three-and-a-half working days, which would exceed the cost limit laid out in FoI regulations.
This proved that DWP had failed to keep a record of what actions it took in response to the recommendations made by Baroness Neville-Rolfe in her Complaints, Suicides and Other Matters report.
DWP’s FoI team also told DNS: “Under Section 16 of the FoI Act we should help you narrow your request so that it may fall beneath the cost limit.
“However, as the request is so broad in scope and the age of the material involved, alongside that fact the lead officials involved no longer work for DWP, presents significant difficulties in tracing relevant information owners to determine answers to the questions asked.
“We are therefore unable to provide more specific advice under Section 16 of the FoI Act.”
Asked how the department justified commissioning a review on such a serious issue, but then failing to keep track of how its recommendations were implemented, a DWP spokesperson declined to comment and referred DNS back to its FoI response.
This is not the first time DWP has failed to keep track of its response to recommendations for improvements in how it prevents deaths of disabled benefit claimants.
In 2020, DWP admitted to the National Audit Office that it had been failing to track recommendations made by its own secret reviews into benefit-related deaths.
But DNS revealed at the time that DWP had made the same admission three years earlier to the information commissioner when it claimed it had corrected those failings.
Paula Peters, a member of the national steering group of Disabled People Against Cuts, said this week: “Yet again the DWP is shamefully failing to keep track of recommendations made in its own reports on how to improve its safeguarding system and reduce suicides of benefit claimants.
“This is another stain on the DWP’s appalling reputation and it must be held to account.”
The Complaints, Suicides and Other Matters report was commissioned in February 2020 by Tory work and pensions secretary Therese Coffey, who made it clear at the time that its findings would never be published.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe is a former civil servant, a member of the Prime Minister’s Policy Unit under John Major, and a former non-executive director of Tesco.
But DNS reported last month that at the time she was commissioned to write the report, she was also a non-executive director of Capita, a company closely connected to one of the “very bad cases”, the death of Philippa Day.
The Department: How a Violent Government Bureaucracy Killed Hundreds and Hid the Evidence, DNS editor John Pring’s book on the years of deaths linked to DWP’s actions and failings, is published by Pluto Press
4 September 2025
Chancellor’s disability minister skips all three meetings of group set up by Labour to champion disabled people
The minister who leads on disability for the Treasury has shown “contempt” for disabled people by skipping all three meetings of a ministerial group set up to “champion disability inclusion” across the new Labour government, according to a campaign network.
The meetings of the government’s lead ministers on disability from 19 government departments are intended to “champion disability inclusion and accessibility across each government department”.
The 19 lead ministers* are supposed to “break down barriers to opportunity for disabled people” and fulfil Labour’s manifesto commitment to ensure their departments “put the views and voices of disabled people at the heart of everything they do”.
But for the first three meetings of the group, the lead disability minister for the Treasury, Lord [Spencer] Livermore – who leads on welfare policy for the Treasury and was director of strategy for Gordon Brown when he was prime minister – failed to put in a single appearance.
His failure was described by disabled people’s organisations this week as “profoundly disappointing” and demonstrating the “contempt” the Treasury has for disabled people.
Asked whether this failure showed that championing disability inclusion and accessibility was not a Treasury priority, a Treasury spokesperson told Disability News Service: “The financial secretary to the Treasury is kept updated regularly by officials on issues within the disability brief.”
Four other departments failed to attend any of the three meetings in December 2024, March 2025 and June 2025, according to information released by the government to Disability News Service (DNS) under the Freedom of Information Act.
These four departments were the Department for Business and Trade (DBT); the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS); the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA); and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).
But there was particular concern from disabled people’s organisations at the failure of the Treasury’s lead disability minister to attend the meetings and show commitment from his department to disability equality and co-production.
The Treasury, under chancellor Rachel Reeves, has been blamed for forcing through billions of pounds of cuts to disability benefits, with more likely to come, according to reports in right-wing media this week.
Mark Harrison, a member of the Reclaiming Our Futures Alliance steering group, said: “It just shows the contempt the Treasury has for disabled people.
“They were too busy working out how they can rob our rights and benefits to turn up to a meeting, despite the commitments in the Labour manifesto.
“This evidences what we have experienced in the first year of this government – that disabled people are not a priority.
“In fact, we have experienced the opposite – we are seen as a problem to be dealt with by cutting our rights and benefits.
“It’s no wonder ministers don’t show up, because if they do there will be new demands from the Treasury to cut our services.”
He added: “This government has no progressive strategy or policy, developed with or without disabled people, and is trying to ‘window dress’ by pretending there are meaningful things happening.
“If they are serious, they will engage the leadership of accountable disabled people’s organisations (DPOs) to coproduce strategy and policies which can then be implemented and monitored across government.
“The various ministers and representatives of departments will then have activities and targets to report against and be held accountable for.
“We need a serious approach, not this smokescreen which doesn’t fool anybody.”
Caroline Collier, from Inclusion Barnet’s Campaign for Disability Justice, said: “Everyone needs the means to live, and we know from our supporters that at the time when these meetings were being deprioritised by key departments, many disabled people were terrified by the proposed cuts.
“It is, therefore, profoundly disappointing that key representatives, particularly from the Treasury, were absent.
“‘Updates’ are not sufficient when you are making decisions that can totally change people’s lives.
“We need more than lip service from this government around disability rights – we need to see real commitment and action.
“And that starts with the appointed representatives showing up and taking their responsibilities seriously.
“At the Campaign for Disability Justice, we will be urging government to do better going forward.”
DBT said its lead minister, Justin Madders, was either attending committee stages of bills or preparing for parliamentary stages of government bills he was responsible for, on the dates of each of the three meetings.
A DHSC spokesperson said the 1pm December meeting had been moved at the last minute, and its lead disability minister, Stephen Kinnock, had been on a ministerial visit to a special school in the morning and was travelling back to Westminster, while in March he had been speaking for the government during the committee stage of the assisted suicide bill, and the June meeting had clashed with a debate on dementia care.
DCMS said that its lead disability minister, Stephanie Peacock, had to attend a select committee meeting at the time of the December meeting, was speaking in a Commons debate in March, and had to attend the Commons committee stage of the football governance bill at the time of the June meeting.
DEFRA said its lead disability minister Emma Hardy could not attend the December meeting because it was rescheduled at short notice and clashed with business she could not move; while in March she was on a pre-arranged visit to the River Wye as part of the government’s efforts to clean up rivers, lakes and seas; and in June she was speaking at the Flood and Coast Conference in Telford, which again was pre-arranged.
*The list names 18 departments, and omits the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, whose lead disability minister Rushanara Ali attended both the March and June meetings
4 September 2025
Ofcom ‘is normalising abuse’ by failing to probe GB News guest who said disabled people should be starved
The broadcasting watchdog has been told it is normalising the abuse of disabled people, after its “unacceptable” refusal to investigate a commentator who suggested the best way to cut disability benefit claimant numbers was to starve or shoot them.
Ofcom decided the comments made by comedian Lewis Schaffer – in the context of a response by GB News presenter Patrick Christys – were “irreverent” and “satirical”, even though it accepted they were “potentially highly offensive”.
Ofcom’s failure to investigate Schaffer’s comments comes only months after Disability News Service (DNS) revealed how the regulator has become increasingly unwilling to stand up against disability hate speech in the media over the last 15 years.
Eight of Ofcom’s 11 board members, including its chair, Lord Grade, were appointed by right-wing Conservative-led governments between 2016 and 2024.
Christys had told viewers watching his late-night show on 26 June that “welfare needs to be cut” – while ignoring the evidence that working-age social security spending is stable as a proportion of GDP* – before claiming that the prime minister was not “doing much” to cut disability benefits.
He then asked his guest Lewis Schaffer how he would “get them off their backside”.
Schaffer replied: “Just starve them, that’s what people have to do, that’s what you’ve got to do to people, you can’t just give people money.”
He then added: “What else can you do? Shoot them? I mean, I’d suggest that, but I think that’s maybe a bit strong.”
Christys then replied: “Yeah, it’s just not allowed these days.”
GB News said in a statement at the time: “Having reviewed the comment, which is clearly comedic, GB News does not consider there is anything that requires an apology, or further explanation.”
But despite 96 complaints of “disability discrimination/offence” to Ofcom about the exchange, the regulator concluded that they would not be “pursued” because they “did not raise issues warranting investigating”.
Dr Natasha Hirst, disabled members’ representative for the National Union of Journalists (NUJ)** and former president of the union, told DNS this week: “It is beyond disappointing that Ofcom have chosen not to investigate the complaints made about the derogatory and hostile language used against disabled people on GB News.
“In the current context where disabled people are experiencing abuse and exclusion in their lives, it’s vital to enforce standards in broadcasting.
“The language used was not merely offensive, it had the potential to cause harm.
“Ofcom needs to recognise that the refusal to challenge discriminatory language normalises and emboldens those who target disabled people for abuse.
“Audiences expect action from our regulator and we call on them to take this issue more seriously.”
Louise Holden, senior policy officer on disability and crime for Inclusion London, said it was “absolutely unacceptable for Ofcom to ignore and not uphold complaints about disablist hate speech”.
She said: “Disabled people are not asking for more or better protections than others.
“It is perpetuating and reinforcing the hostile environment we have had to endure for years.
“Using humour as an acceptable reason for someone to say that disabled people should starve or be shot to reduce the welfare bill is disgusting.
“The families of the people who have starved to death due to DWP incompetence deserve justice.
“Ofcom needs to urgently review how they deal with disablist rhetoric in public broadcasting services.”
Richard Wilson, director of campaign group Stop Funding Hate, told DNS: “Ofcom’s job is to protect the public, not act as an enabler.
“Time and again we’ve seen that hate in our media leads to hate crime on our streets.
“Yet Ofcom has repeatedly refused to act amid a dangerous surge in toxic media commentary targeting disabled people and other minoritised groups – even as hate crime figures continue to rise.
“Just when accurate and responsible media are most needed, Britain’s broadcasting regulator has drastically watered down its enforcement of the rules.
“Ofcom’s leadership is ultimately accountable to parliament.
“One thing we can all do is write to our MP and ask them to press for urgent changes to ensure that Britain’s broadcasting regulator fully upholds its rules on hate speech, so that media outlets can no longer target disabled people with impunity.”
Ofcom defended its failure to investigate GB News over the Schaffer comments.
An Ofcom spokesperson said: “We carefully considered complaints about this late-night programme, and we understand some viewers found Lewis Schaffer’s remarks during a discussion about welfare reforms deeply concerning.
“Our assessment took into account the regular contributor’s established irreverent style.
“We also considered that the presenter’s response to the comments signalled to the audience that the remarks were satirical and not to be taken seriously.
“So while we acknowledge these remarks were potentially highly offensive, given the particular context we did not consider it raised any substantive issues warranting investigation.”
*Gross domestic product, the size of the country’s economy in a particular year
**DNS editor John Pring is an NUJ member
4 September 2025
Shock and anger after DWP imposes gagging order on disabled members of its new advice panel
Disabled people’s organisations have expressed shock and alarm at the disability minister’s “completely unacceptable” decision to impose gagging orders on members of his new “independent” advisory panel.
The panel, led by disabled campaigner Zara Todd, will advise Sir Stephen Timms and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) on disability benefits, employment and other DWP issues as part of efforts to “convene and connect” disabled people’s expertise with the department’s “policy design and delivery”.
Although all 10 members of the new Independent Disability Advisory Panel will be disabled people, they must all sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) that prevents them sharing information from their meetings outside the group.
This, DWP says, will ensure that “any sensitive information shared between the parties remains private and is not shared with others”.
Members will be paid £200 a day plus expenses for their work on the panel, which will only run until 31 March next year, although there is a “possibility” that it could be extended.
But the decision to restrict the panel to a maximum of 10 members, and particularly the need for those members to sign an NDA, has caused anger across the disabled people’s movement this week.
Dr Sally Witcher, a member of the advisory group for the last Labour government’s ground-breaking Improving the Life Chances of Disabled People report, and later deputy director of the new Office for Disability Issues and chief executive of Inclusion Scotland, said the government would have been “hard put to come up with a less transparent structure and process, more capable of being tightly managed and controlled, and therefore more likely to undermine trust” than the new panel.
Dr Witcher, founder of the social enterprise Inclusive New Normal, said that asking members to sign an NDA seemed to underline “how little this government trusts us” and could raise fears that the government believes that “no disabled person with integrity could support its actions”.
She said all the government had needed to do was include a confidentiality clause in a code of conduct, a common step taken by other independent advisory bodies.
She warned disabled people considering applying to the panel that “what looks like a valuable opportunity to promote engagement, influence and hold government to account may well instead be a way for government to close down dissent, tightly manage engagement, and avoid being held accountable, including legally”.
She said they would be “well-advised on this occasion, if they feel the urge to enter the lion’s den, to do so with extreme caution, and at their peril”.
The grassroots, user-led mental health group Recovery in the Bin (RiTB) was even more critical.
It said: “The moment anyone signs a non-disclosure agreement with the DWP is the moment a person betrays every single disabled person.”
RiTB also said a panel of 10 could not be representative of disabled people, and that it feared that those in the most “vulnerable” situations – those affected by mental ill-health or receiving the highest rate of out-of-work disability benefits – would not be included because of DWP’s benefit rules on earnings.
RiTB said: “Isn’t there a risk DWP won’t believe people who can be on a panel are not fit for work?
“This is why panels and reviews need to be independent.
“We were promised co-production and it clearly isn’t.”
Flick Williams, a disability rights campaigner and retired disability equality trainer and access consultant, said NDAs were “an instrument that allows those with power to silence those without”.
She said: “The justification given is that information will be shared that is not in the public domain, yet government needs to be transparent about proposed changes to social security.
“I would not be able to agree to withhold pertinent information from my fellow disabled people given the context of the oppression we face and will therefore not be applying for a place.”
She added: “A panel with only 10 members cannot hope to be remotely representative of the wide variety of impairment, health conditions and different circumstances experienced by disabled people.
“And whilst I believe disabled people should be paid for their time and participation in such initiatives, the way this panel is constituted is likely to deter those disabled people in receipt of universal credit and those with fluctuating conditions and the most severe chronic ill health.”
Fazilet Hadi, head of policy at Disability Rights UK (DR UK), said the “tone and nature” of the panel appeared to “continue the tradition of departmental secrecy” within DWP, and she said that asking disabled panel members to sign blanket NDAs was “completely unacceptable”.
She said: “Disabled people deserve transparency and accountability, especially when trust in government is at an all-time low following the universal credit bill.
“If it forces participants into secrecy, the panel will fail to build a bridge between DWP and disabled people, especially as there is no indication that views outside of the panel will be brought into the mix.”
Despite apparently only being paid for up to one-and-a-half days a month, the duties imposed on panel members appear to be time-consuming.
They will be asked to attend monthly workshops “to collaborate with policy teams in the department advising on the design and development of policy and strategy” and attend preparation meetings ahead of these workshops.
But they will also be expected to review departmental documents and may be asked to “share questions with their networks and gather wider feedback” for DWP.
The disabled people’s online activism community Disability Rebellion said the obligation to sign NDAs would create an “atmosphere of secrecy” and hide decisions from disabled people that would affect their lives.
Disability Rebellion said 10 members was “nowhere near enough to truly represent disabled people in a decision making process that will affect hundreds of thousands of disabled people”.
It also questioned whether £200 a day would be enough to compensate members for the work involved, when they were working a maximum of just one-and-a-half days a month, while any panel members on universal credit would “lose part of their benefits for doing the DWP’s dirty work for them”.
A DWP spokesperson said in a statement: “The purpose of the new [panel] is to convene the expertise of Deaf and disabled people and people with long-term health conditions into our policy design and delivery.
“To enable meaningful conversations, we may need to share sensitive information or information that is not in the public domain during discussions.”
Zara Todd said she could not comment on the NDA issue and the size of the panel she will be chairing, and she referred DNS to DWP.
But in a statement after her appointment last month, she said: “I’m delighted to chair the new Independent Disability Advisory Panel and help ensure Deaf and disabled people and people with long-term health conditions are heard in government policy-making.
“The panel will aim to strengthen relationships between the government and sector, and I look forward to working with other disabled people to connect lived experience with policy development.
“I hope that working collaboratively, we can build stronger links and build an approach that works for all.”
Todd is chair of Edinburgh Accessibility Commission, a member of the mobility and access committee for Scotland, a member of the British Council’s disability advisory panel, and convener of Disability Equality Scotland.
She has a long record of speaking out on disability rights issues such as independent living, accessible housing, and the rights of disabled women.
She previously worked with disabled people’s organisations including the Alliance for Inclusive Education, European Network on Independent Living, and Equal Lives, is on the board of Disabled Peoples’ International, and is a former chair of Inclusion London.
Meanwhile, an open letter calling for the review into personal independence payment (PDF) to be independently led by disabled people and their organisations – among other demands – rather than chaired by Sir Stephen Timms, has been signed by nearly 150 disabled people’s organisations, individual disabled people, and allies.
The letter, and campaigning around it, has been led by DPAC Cymru.
4 September 2025
UN will still report on Labour’s attacks on rights, despite Trump-fuelled funding crisis
UN experts are still planning to deliver findings on Labour’s attacks on disabled people’s rights, even though a public examination of the UK government had to be abandoned because of a funding crisis fuelled by US president Donald Trump.
The committee on the rights of persons with disabilities (CRPD) was set to examine UK government representatives in Geneva last month on concerns about Labour’s new benefit cuts bill and its mental health legislation and breaches of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).
Disabled activists in the UK had contacted the committee in July with serious concerns about both the universal credit bill and the mental health bill.
In response, the UN sent letters to the UK government expressing concerns about the two pieces of legislation, and giving it until 11 August to respond, with the committee set to examine the concerns publicly at the UN in Geneva later in August.
But that public examination had to be cancelled because of the UN’s financial crisis – caused by the continued late or non-payment of dues by member states, particularly the United States and the funding cuts of president Donald Trump – which had led to a “reduction in funds and available support services” across the organisation.
Miyeon Kim, CRPD’s chair, said at the opening of the committee’s 33rd session on 11 August that the session had been significantly cut back because of the crisis, while there had been mass cancellations of other disability rights work the committee had planned.
The government responded to both CRPD letters last month, disputing the criticisms and insisting that its mental health bill was meeting its obligations under UNCRPD and the European Convention on Human Rights.
The committee’s universal credit bill letter to the UK government had followed intensive efforts by DPO Forum England and other disabled people’s organisations to provide the UN with evidence of the impact of the government’s planned cuts to out-of-work disability benefits.
The committee’s mental health bill letter had followed concerns raised by the user-led, rights-based organisation Liberation, which is run by people with mental health diagnoses.
DPO Forum England said the UK government’s response to the concerns about the universal credit bill was “rife with falsehoods, denial and obfuscation”.
Rick Burgess, the forum’s co-chair, said: “We hope the UN sees through the UK government’s falsehoods and condemns the ongoing assault on our lives and rights.
“There is no change from the grave and systemic abuses previously identified, and in some aspects an intensification of these crimes.”
Dorothy Gould, Liberation’s founder, said she saw the committee’s continuing involvement as “absolutely vital”.
She said: “The government’s mental health bill remains highly discriminatory and its welfare benefit plans are equally devastating.
“In both cases the government has shown itself highly unwilling to address our rights as disabled people under the UNCRPD and has maintained this stance despite fresh concerns expressed by the committee as recently as last year.”
She said the government’s response to the committee on the questions about the mental health bill “lack credibility” and were “deeply disappointing and can only make disabled people feel highly devalued and utterly disrespected”.
She said: “The government’s replies about its welfare benefit plans are equally disturbing; I would find it hard to recognise the picture presented in these against the discriminatory reality of what is actually happening and the traumatic nature of the government’s plans.
“These replies are again shocking, utterly unworthy of the government.
“For all these reasons, I see the committee as having a crucial role to play in monitoring and reviewing what is happening in the UK and calling for meaningful and fundamental changes which genuinely comply with the UNCRPD.
“I could not welcome its continuing involvement more strongly.”
A government spokesperson said: “The UK government is committed to implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and to helping disabled people to fulfil their potential.
“We responded to the committee’s letter and await their findings with interest.”
But Burgess said that if the government was committed to implementing UNCRPD “it would not have dropped that commitment at the Labour party conference in 2023 and they would not be implementing policy that breaches our treaty rights.
“Yet again they are dissembling.”
The UN update emerged as right-wing media reported this week that prime minister Sir Keir Starmer would “drive through money-saving welfare reforms” after a reshuffle of his advisers, and “remains determined to overhaul the disability benefits payments system to get more people stuck on long-term sickness back into work”, while “reviving plans to reform welfare” would be a “key focus” of his new Downing Street team.
Meanwhile, DWP has today (Thursday) announced £338 million funding for its Connect to Work programme, which it claims will deliver “localised, tailored support to over 85,000 people who are sick, disabled or face complex barriers to work in 15 areas across England”.
DWP said the scheme provided “intensive, personalised help including individual coaching from employment specialists, job matching services, and ongoing support for both participants and employers to ensure sustainable employment outcomes”.
About 300,000 people across England and Wales will receive support through the scheme over the next five years, says DWP.
The announcement came just hours after the universal credit bill received royal assent and became law.
The act will come into force next April, and it will see cuts to spending on new claimants of the universal credit health element of more than £2 billion-a-year by 2029-30.
By 2029-30, the universal credit bill will see 750,000 new universal credit claimants who cannot work for disability-related reasons have their health element addition frozen at £50 a week, compared to the £97-a-week that existing claimants currently receive.
Just 80,000 – less than 10 per cent of new claimants – will be protected from this cut because they are terminally-ill or qualify for Labour’s new “severe conditions” group.
4 September 2025
Campaigner’s legal victory highlights questions over government’s commitment to accessible rail travel
A rail company’s actions have underlined continuing concerns about the government’s commitment to an accessible rail network, after a disabled campaigner’s legal bid finally forced it to improve access at six rural stations.
Doug Paulley, who brought the case against government-owned Northern Trains, said he believed the company’s delayed action was a concerning reflection on the policy failures of successive governments on accessible transport.
Northern Trains first promised two years ago to take action to ensure disabled people could use the six stations in Cumbria, Yorkshire and Northumberland.
All six of the stations use barrow crossings, which can only be used if trained staff are present and allow passengers who cannot use steps to cross the tracks from one platform to another.
Paulley’s legal challenge targeted improvements at Appleby, Bridlington, Hexham, Settle, Thorne North and Ulverston stations.
It came after he was left stranded at Appleby station after his pre-booked accessible taxi – arranged through Northern – was cancelled.
He could not reach the other platform to return home because the station was unstaffed on a Sunday so he could not use the barrow crossing, and the steep roads and paths around the station meant wheeling himself would have been unsafe.
Fortunately, an “excellent” catering trolley attendant, who had been on the train, called in a favour and arranged for a taxi to take him into town and then back to the station later.
But these journeys were still “difficult and stressful” because it was not an accessible taxi, and – because the barrow crossing was shut – he had to wheel himself up a steep footpath to the opposite platform for his return journey.
Paulley applied for a judicial review in April 2024, arguing that Northern was breaching the Equality Act by failing to staff Appleby and five other barrow crossing stations throughout their operating hours, and was failing to make reasonable adjustments to ensure wheelchair-users could access all the platforms across the six stations.
Northern first promised to extend staffing hours at the stations two years ago, during consultations into hugely unpopular proposals to cut ticket office opening-hours across England, which were later abandoned.
The rail company has now agreed to settle Paulley’s case, without admitting liability.
At Bridlington, Northern has installed a lift, while it now has staff available at Ulverston, Thorne North and Hexham stations from the first to the last train of the day.
It had told Paulley that it hoped to extend its “first to last” staffing promise to Appleby and Settle by the end of last month, but told DNS this week that it was still “working to ensure staff are able to provide the same assistance throughout the day” at the two stations.
Asked why it had taken so long for a government-owned rail company to take the necessary action on accessibility at the six stations, Northern said it could not speak for the Department for Transport (DfT).
DfT also declined to say why it had taken a government-owned company so long to act.
Paulley said Northern’s actions were a “step in the right direction” but its delays in acting on its offer to staff barrow crossing stations from first to last trains had been “very frustrating”.
And he said the staffing promise was not a “proper solution” because disabled people should have the right to “independent step-free access”.
He wants to see accessible footbridges with lifts and ramps at all train stations.
Instead, he said, the government’s Access for All scheme to improve access at rail stations was “lamentably inadequate by design, and even more so in implementation, so there’s no sign of lifts any time soon at the remaining five stations – which is a shameful reflection on governmental policy.
“I am very concerned that there appears to be no drive or appetite for accessibility and no firm commitment for such.
“We are treated as an expensive inconvenience.”
A DfT spokesperson said in a statement: “Everyone should be able to travel with ease and confidence.
“That’s why accessibility is a core priority for this government – we want disabled passengers to travel easily, confidently and with dignity.
“Northern is working to make journeys easier for passengers who need support, through station improvements, staff training and improved passenger assistance services.
“The Access for All programme has already delivered step-free routes at more than 270 stations, and we’re considering further measures – including a stronger passenger watchdog for disabled passengers.
“Later this year, we’ll publish a roadmap setting out how GBR [Great British Railways] will deliver a railway that truly works for everyone.”
Asked why it had not promised to install accessible footbridges with lifts and ramps at the five stations other than Bridlington, a Northern spokesperson said: “We understand how important step-free access is for disabled passengers and those with mobility challenges.
“As part of the settlement, we’ve agreed to provide staff at these stations throughout the day to offer direct assistance.
“Installing footbridges and lifts requires public funding.
“While we’re committed to improving accessibility, decisions about major infrastructure upgrades are made through a wider process.”
The Northern spokesperson added: “We’re sorry that Mr Paulley had such a difficult experience while travelling with us.
“We recognise how vital accessibility is for all our customers and are committed to making meaningful improvements across our network.
“Improving accessibility remains a top priority for Northern, and we continue to listen closely to feedback from our customers to guide our efforts and ensure everyone can travel with confidence and dignity.”
Paulley, who was represented by legal firm Leigh Day, said: “The railway industry should take note: where the moral imperative for accessibility has sadly proven not to be sufficient for them to take action, they will face legal consequences from disabled people and excellent allies like Leigh Day.
“I honestly believe that legal action can result in significant improvements for disabled people.”
Leigh Day partner Stephanie Hill said: “My client and all passengers should be able to travel with freedom and dignity.
“I very much hope that all train operators will ensure that stations are properly accessible to all rail users to prevent instances like my client has experienced from happening again.”
4 September 2025
Other disability-related stories covered by mainstream media this week
People with learning difficulties in England are dying 20 years younger than the general population, a new NHS report has revealed. Almost 40 per cent of deaths were found to be avoidable, almost double the rest of the population. The latest Learning from Lives and Deaths report (LeDeR), an annual study into the deaths of people with learning difficulties and autistic people, commissioned by NHS England, found the average age of death was 62.5, a slight improvement on the year before, when it was 62.2: https://www.itv.com/news/2025-09-02/he-was-neglected-adults-with-learning-disabilities-dying-20-years-early
A council has said core adult social care services are “stretched to the brink” due to a deepening crisis in the sector. Kent County Council warned it was facing “significant financial challenges” amid increasing demand and “insufficient central government support”. The council is urging the government to “match its ambitions for health and care integration with realistic funding and meaningful reform”: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx292ly1p21o
Public sector workers have voiced “deep concern” after Coventry City Council signed a £500,000-a-year artificial intelligence contract with US data technology company Palantir. The deal is the first of its kind between a UK local authority and Palantir, which supplies technology to the Israel Defense Forces and to help Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts. It follows a pilot scheme in Coventry’s children’s services department. The council is planning to extend the Palantir system to processes for providing support to children with special educational needs: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/aug/30/coventry-city-council-signs-ai-deal-contract-palantir-technologies
4 September 2025
News provided by John Pring at www.disabilitynewsservice.com
