The man in charge of reviewing the government’s controversial fitness-to-work benefit assessments is to stand down, the BBC’s Panorama has learned.
Professor Malcolm Harrington has called for a big overhaul of the process of testing claimants’ ability to work to make it more “fair and humane”.
He said ministers wanted a “fresh set of eyes” – but denied this was because of changes he had asked for.
Officials said he had only been recruited for a limited period.
More than two million people currently claiming employment and support allowance – formerly known as incapacity benefit – are having their status reviewed as part of a government drive to get more people into work and reduce welfare bills.
The work capability assessments were first introduced on a pilot basis by Labour in 2008 and rolled out across the country by the coalition government.
Critics have said the large number of decisions overturned on appeal show the process is flawed and that tests are too impersonal, not medically rigorous enough and the fluctuating nature of some conditions is not sufficiently taken into account
Brought in to review the system in 2010, Prof Harrington has recommended major changes – such as putting a single health professional in overall charge of each case rather than relying on responses to questionnaires and computer assessments handled by staff from contractor Atos.
Prof Harrington – an occupational health specialist – told the Panorama programme he would stand down after he produced his third review later this year and someone else would take over.
He made it clear it was the government’s decision, but rejected suggestions that he had effectively been sacked.
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Yeah right.
nah they all want to go sacked out the door they not fit to govern stamped on their heads killers of the sick lame and lazy if you believed their atos reports
What bull!
If honesty was ever to raise its head in all things concerned relating to Gov/DWP and Atos……..
Then it would scream ‘morals’ at the world.
I mean it certainly seems, even the seemingly heartless are to have a fit of conscienceness and decide ‘enough is enough’, the gov certainly seem to have a stand by when morals take hold dont they.
I agree we need a specialist to oversee the Atos decisions.
If Prof Harrington is now saying specialists are needed, and they cannot rely on computers and forms to determine condition? Then gov are gonna find an even more heartless bastard to take his place.
See, gov know these times are truly being seen for the cruel scum they are. Several people are being struck by moral conscience, esp in the medical profession.
I actually believe this itself is what gov did not counter for and may well be enough to enforce gov to back down.
If sackings/resignations/uprising of morals keep coming at gov, its a good thing for us.