The Benefit System

ATOS wins assessment contract

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Atos, the firm that runs the work capability assessment designed to encourage people to move off benefits and into employment, has won contracts worth more than £400m to test whether disabled people should continue receiving benefits..

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) announced the award of three contracts in England and Wales, with Atos winning most of the work. Capita won the smaller of the three contracts, covering Wales and parts of central England.

The government will replace the working-age disability living allowance (DLA) with a new personal independence payment (PIP), from next year and aims to cut spending by 20% over the next three years. DLA, pays out a maximum of £130 a week, is a welfare payment designed to help people look after themselves and aimed at those who find it difficult to walk or get around. The government says that in eight years the number of people claiming DLA has risen by about 30%, from 2.5 million to 3.2 million, with the annual cost now £13bn. Ministers argue that there are no checks on who gets the benefit, hence the need for an assessment system.

G4S is apparently in line for two smaller contracts – one in Northern Ireland and the other a national trial. These are worth about £200m in total, industry insiders estimate.

Richard Hawkes, chief executive of the disability charity Scope, said the tests were deeply flawed.

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1 Comment

  1. Many thanks again to you all at Yes Minister, for having your finger on the button for us all.
    I have recently been caused a lot of unnecessary pain and stress by ATOS and their involvement with the disabled. I agree there are many cases that need to be re looked at, yet in my experience ATOS aren’t very good at it. I can see this turning into a nightmare for those genuine people like myself, who find it difficult to get around.
    Kind regards

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