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About 1,600 working-age disabled people are dying every year after having their claim for disability benefits rejected, the government has been forced to admit. The Department for Work and Pensions figures (DWP) reveal that 7,990 disabled people who lodged a claim […]
A disabled woman who raised concerns that her benefits assessment was set to be based on a report that was a quarter of a century old had her claim closed after a government contractor described her as “aggressive” and “non-compliant”. The […]
A traumatised benefit claimant has accused the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) of “sheer malice” after it again broke its promise to stop harassing him while he waits to give vital evidence in a child abuse trial. DWP’s contractor Maximus […]
Disabled activists have fought back against what they say are attempts by the government and big business to “hijack” the UN International Day of Persons with Disabilities through their support for a purple-themed campaign that focuses on disability employment. The #PurpleLightUp […]
Staff working for a discredited benefit assessments contractor threatened to call the police after a claimant asked about the mental health qualifications of the nurse who was assessing his eligibility for personal independence payment (PIP). Atos has now launched an investigation […]
New figures show that Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) civil servants are questioning only a tiny proportion of the benefit assessment reports written by discredited government contractors Atos and Capita. Campaigners have been trying for months to secure evidence that […]
A regulator has been told there are “issues of concern” about the way it deals with complaints against health and care professionals, including those who write dishonest benefit assessment reports. The Professional Standards Authority (PSA) agreed in January to look at […]
A doctor working for the government contractor Atos told a gay disabled man she was assessing for his entitlement to disability benefits that his sexuality meant he was “defective” and that God needed to fix him like a “broken” car. Atos […]
The government’s decision to extend the contracts of two discredited companies that carry out disability benefit assessments has been branded “appalling”, “shocking” and “a complete con”. The move has also been criticised by the Scottish government. Sarah Newton, the minister for […]
Campaigners have raised serious concerns about government plans to video-record all face-to-face assessments for personal independence payment (PIP). The move, which will begin with a pilot project, before being rolled out across the country, was announced this week by the minister […]