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The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has extended the contracts of three discredited outsourcing giants blamed for much of the discrimination and failings within the disability benefit assessment system. DWP had been planning to start a contract procurement exercise for […]
The three companies that carry out disability benefit assessments for the government have made almost no progress in the last year on alerting local authorities to concerns about claimants whose safety is at risk, according to a disabled campaigner. Last year, […]
Ministers are poised to hand more than a billion pounds to discredited private sector outsourcing giants so they can continue to provide disability benefit assessments for another three years. The plans will apparently see a huge rise in spending on the […]
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has caused confusion after refusing to say if a newly-announced trial will test the idea of merging assessments for its two main disability benefits. Justin Tomlinson (pictured), the minister for disabled people, announced this […]
A disabled woman’s tribunal victory has given hope to claimants who cannot take part in face-to-face benefit assessments for impairment, health, or trauma-related reasons, but then have their claims ended by the government for “failure to attend” their appointments. Jane* spent […]
The performance of one of the government’s disability benefit assessment contractors has worsened over the last year and has remained well outside a government target it has never met, new figures have revealed. They show that the proportion of personal independence […]
Thousands of disabled people could have had their benefit claims stopped unlawfully, campaigners believe, after a judge found that letters sent out by government contractors were failing to stress the serious consequences of failing to attend a face-to-face assessment. Upper tribunal […]
A new business that charges benefit claimants £100 to record their disability assessments has been accused of exploiting disabled people’s fears about social security reforms. Disability News Service (DNS) was contacted this week by the Liverpool-based business, which says it provides […]
The equality watchdog is considering taking action to tackle discrimination in the way decisions are made in the social security system, it revealed this morning. Although the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has not provided any further details, it released […]
Major changes to the way disabled students are assessed for their support risk turning the system into a replica of the government’s much-criticised personal independence payment (PIP) assessment regime, student leaders have warned. The changes will mean the closure in December […]