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You are here: Home / Archives for Atos

Atos

Call for urgent inquiry into ‘covert surveillance’ in benefit assessments

By John Pring on 20th April 2023 Category: Benefits and Poverty

Call for urgent inquiry into ‘covert surveillance’ in benefit assessments
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MPs are calling for an urgent government investigation into the use of “covert surveillance” of disabled people by the private sector companies paid to assess eligibility for disability benefits. It comes in a report by the Commons work and pensions committee, […]

DWP assessment firms ‘still producing shocking levels of sub-standard reports’

By John Pring on 19th January 2023 Category: Benefits and Poverty

DWP assessment firms ‘still producing shocking levels of sub-standard reports’
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Contractors likely to be bidding for new five-year contracts to test eligibility for disability benefits are still producing a “shockingly high” number of sub-standard assessment reports, nine years after they first won contracts to carry them out. An audit of assessment […]

No DWP decision on £2.8 billion assessment contracts, 21 months on

By John Pring on 5th January 2023 Category: Benefits and Poverty

No DWP decision on £2.8 billion assessment contracts, 21 months on
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The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has still not decided which companies will be paid a share of £2.8 billion to carry out health and disability benefit assessments, nearly two years after it first published information about the contracts. The […]

Anger over failure to commission review into suicide linked to DWP

By John Pring on 1st December 2022 Category: Benefits and Poverty

Anger over failure to commission review into suicide linked to DWP
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Public bodies in Greater Manchester refused to commission an independent investigation into the death of a young disabled man, despite their repeated failings contributing to his suicide. The failure to carry out a safeguarding adults review into the suicide of Ker […]

DWP abandons probe into ‘assessment centre traps’ after Tory MP fails to co-operate

By John Pring on 3rd November 2022 Category: Benefits and Poverty

DWP abandons probe into ‘assessment centre traps’ after Tory MP fails to co-operate
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The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has been forced to abandon an investigation into claims that its contractors were carrying out covert attempts to trick benefit claimants, after the Tory MP who sparked the probe failed to co-operate. Dr Ben […]

Benefit claimants back up MP’s claims of assessment secret tricks

By John Pring on 28th July 2022 Category: Benefits and Poverty

Benefit claimants back up MP’s claims of assessment secret tricks
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Disabled people have backed up an MP’s claims that government contractors are deliberately putting lifts out of order and attempting other “covert” attempts to trick claimants waiting to be assessed for their disability benefits. Last week, Conservative MP Dr Ben Spencer […]

DWP contractors carry out secret tricks on disabled claimants, Tory MP has been told

By John Pring on 21st July 2022 Category: Benefits and Poverty

DWP contractors carry out secret tricks on disabled claimants, Tory MP has been told
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Private sector contractors are deliberately putting lifts out of order and removing cups from beside water coolers as part of “covert” attempts to trick disabled people waiting to be assessed for their benefits, MPs have been told. Conservative MP Dr Ben […]

It’s just too much effort to produce universal credit WCA stats, says minister

By John Pring on 21st July 2022 Category: Benefits and Poverty

It’s just too much effort to produce universal credit WCA stats, says minister
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The minister for disabled people has told MPs it is too expensive and too much effort to produce statistics about key parts of an assessment system linked to hundreds, and probably thousands, of deaths over the last decade. Chloe Smith told […]

Company linked to death of PIP claimant gives itself ‘seven or eight out of 10’

By John Pring on 26th May 2022 Category: Benefits and Poverty

Company linked to death of PIP claimant gives itself ‘seven or eight out of 10’
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The boss of a private sector contractor has told MPs that he gives his company a mark of seven or eight out of ten for its performance in carrying out disability benefit assessments, despite it being closely linked to the death […]

DWP admits assessment system is ‘fragmented’ and ‘inefficient’

By John Pring on 22nd December 2021 Category: Benefits and Poverty

DWP admits assessment system is ‘fragmented’ and ‘inefficient’
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The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has admitted that its system for assessing disabled people for their eligibility for benefits is “fragmented” and “inefficient”. The comments about the system were contained in documents shared earlier this year with companies seeking […]

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