News Archives - The Accessible Planet

Wheelchair access and disabled rights gone 'out the window' due to COVID... outrageous?!

Another example of how COVID-19 safety measures are having a huge impact on disabled people. • Disabled bays blocked for COVID-19 queues • No additional spaces made available • Restrictions and limited access for blue badge holders If you are a wheelchair user or struggle to walk any distance then in the good old 'pre-covid' days you used to be able to go to a store and park near the entrance - in fact this has been the case since 1970 when orange badges were first introduced as part of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970. You'd place your blue badge on the windscreen and happy days, you got the wide space needed to get your wheelchair out of the car or you managed to park close enough so you could walk to the shop. For a minute let us ignore the fact there are many people abusing the blue badge system and it's easy to get one... Genuine blue badge holders need the space. If you are an independent wheelchair user who transfers to the drivers seat and puts their wheelchair across their lap and onto the passenger seat (which 1000's of people do daily) then you need the wide space to fully open the door. Just like if you use crutches and need to fully open the door or may struggle to navigate across the car park using sticks - or any one of the genuine reasons why blue badges and disabled parking bays exist. But disabled parking spaces are becoming even more sparse as they are being blocked off to make way for 'COVID safe' measures, such as click and collect or store queues. It's as though the need for the spaces has just vanished without any consideration or extra spaces being made available. It would be easy to block off another area of the car park for blue badge holders and replace the original proper bays.

"It's not just car parking, wheelchair access and disabled people's rights seem to have just gone out the window since COVID, it's effecting people daily and it's outrageous"

It appears there is nothing that can be done and disabled people who need the use of dedicated bays just have to take their chance that one of the very few remaining available spaces are free when they arrive at the store.

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Hopefully one day when COVID queues are a thing of the past disabled spaces will become available again and those who genuinely need the wide or closer parking will be able to go shopping again like everyone else.

Have you been effected by disabled parking or other access due to COVID-19? We are keen to hear from you - please email: hello@theaccessibleplanet.com

Dec 21

8,000 PIP claimants die within six months of being rejected

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Close to 8,000 people died within six months of their application for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) being rejected since 2013, newly released figures have shown. Labour MP, Madeleine Moon, obtained the figures from the Department for Work and Pensions, which showed people who had been rejected PIP made up 10% of the nearly 74,000 who died within six months of making a claim. However, the DWP has insisted that there is no evidence implying those who died did so for the same reason they were submitted a PIP claim, according to a national newspaper report. Over PIP 3.6m were made between 2013 and 2018. Of these, 73,800 claimants died within six months of their claim being registered. 7,990 had died after having their claims rejected, representing a small proportion. The figures were provided by pensions minister, Sarah Newton, in a written answer to Parliament. Ms Moon, who is MP for Bridgend, said: “These shameful figures reveal how gravely ill people, eligible for benefits, have tragically fallen through the cracks of a failing system as they approach the end of life. “Questions to the DWP have uncovered many cases where terminally ill people have had their PIP applications rejected when applying under normal rules** and have died within six months. “It is disgusting that people who are dying have not been treated with compassion and support and their claim fast tracked. “When you only have a short time left to live you must not be let down by a callous system which is not fit for purpose.” The DWP said that 56,920 of the 73,800 people who died were credited with a payment. It added that the majority of people who claim PIP do so for non-life-threatening reasons. A spokeswoman told the Mirror: “DWP decision makers take into consideration all the evidence provided and under PIP 31% of people get the highest possible support, compared with 15% under DLA. “We fast-track the claim process for people who have been diagnosed with a terminal illness and we’re stopping unnecessary reassessments for people with the most severe and life-long conditions.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Dec 21

New website and brand refresh!

After nearly 5 years being live it was time for a 'refresh' - both in terms of how our website worked and the overall design. Although we made slight alternations to The Accessible Planet we needed to invest in a new platform that was easier to view products and services but also easier for people and businesses to join us - the easier it is to find things the better! We feel we have achieve this and the website is looking a lot more improved - we now have a team working continuing on improvements and changes, this is almost daily to ensure we continue to grow, if not at a faster rate than before... For our new website, logo and brand identity we needed to source professional services, many thanks to Garreth at Creativenergy for his work across the whole platform and all areas of design - be sure to reach out to them here.