A Valued Part of Society?

Today is the International Day of Disabled People and I thought it might be interesting to look again at some recent coverage here and elsewhere of current attitudes towards disability:

“40% felt disabled people turned down job offers even when they were physically capable of doing them.”

“27% of people think legislation (to give disabled people access to work and independent living) has gone too far”

Access all areas: Disability survey

“Paying a fortune to the five million on handouts - like X Factor reject Wagner Carrilho - is a major reason the UK's deficit soared to a crippling £155billion, Tory minister Iain Duncan Smith told The Sun.”

“'Get a job you scrounger!” Manchester Bus Driver to disabled passenger.

“75% of incapacity claimants are fit to work: Tough new benefits test weeds out the workshy” Daily Mail

Grayling: latest figures show the vast majority of people being found fit for work DWP

Although the release quotes Grayling saying he is "determined to get the medical test right" the successful appeals against the test are entirely omitted from his ESA headline statistics WTB

'well, we all know that many people currently getting this (DLA) really aren't disabled and shouldn't be getting it'. DWP manager responsible for the support of disabled claimants.

Looks like we have a long, long way to go.

(My thanks to the other WTB contributors for the articles I’ve shamelessly plundered for this!)