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The work and pensions secretary has admitted that the huge delays facing thousands of disabled people applying for the government’s new disability benefit are “unacceptable”. Iain Duncan Smith was responding to criticism from his Labour shadow that the implementation of personal […]
An MP has called for Atos to be stripped of the right to bid for government contracts, after an inquiry concluded that it appears to have used “potentially misleading” information to win disability assessment contracts worth nearly £400 million. Fiona Mactaggart, […]
The entire system of disability benefits and other support should be swept away and replaced with a single funding stream and assessment process, according to a new discussion paper published by a disabled consultant and activist. Simon Stevens said that witnessing […]
A government contractor appears to have used “incorrect and potentially misleading” information to win disability assessment contracts worth nearly £400 million, according to a committee of MPs. The public accounts committee used evidence provided by Disability News Service (DNS) to make […]
The government’s implementation of its new disability benefit has been “a fiasco”, according to a hard-hitting report by a committee of MPs. The public accounts committee said the introduction of personal independence payment (PIP) had led to “long and unacceptable” delays, […]
The government’s “fitness for work” contractor has refused to provide any evidence to back up controversial claims made by three of its executives in an evidence session with MPs. The three Atos executives were giving evidence to a Commons work and […]
Disabled activists have responded angrily to controversial claims made in evidence to MPs by three senior executives from the company that carries out the government’s “fitness for work” tests. They are furious that the Atos Healthcare executives were again attempting to […]
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has been forced to spend £170,000 paying consultants to help clear up the mess caused by the chaotic implementation of its new disability benefit. The introduction last year of personal independence payment (PIP) – […]
Disabled people are facing “confusion, anxiety and stress” because of the “misrepresentation” that helped a company to win a £184 million disability assessment contract, according to a Labour MP. The claims have been made by Labour MP Fiona Mactaggart, who has […]
The Tory peer who heads the equality watchdog’s disability committee has faced tough questions over whether the hostile rhetoric of his party’s ministers has helped to fuel hate crime. Lord [Chris] Holmes, a commissioner with the Equality and Human Rights Commission, […]