hi this is from a benefits site thatMy apologies if the Benefits and Work website runs rather slowly or even grinds to a stop occasionally after this newsletter goes out. Please visit again later if it does. In fact, we weren’t going to publish a newsletter in August, but we felt this was one item of news that many members would want to know about.
In a surprising, and for many Benefits and Work members deeply dismaying, decision the DWP have announced this afternoon that Atos have won the biggest share of the contracts for carrying out personal independence payment (PIP) medicals. A smaller share has gone to Capita.
PIP is due to begin replacing disability living allowance (DLA) for working age claimants from April next year, with all current working age DLA claimants having to be reassessed for the new benefit. The contracts for PIP medicals are worth up to a billion pounds in total and have attracted the attention of many multinational companies.
Atos have won Lot 1 and Lot 3 in the bidding for the contracts. Lot 1 covers Scotland, NE England, NW England & Isle of Man while Lot 3 covers London and South England. Capita have won Lot 2, which covers Wales and Central England.
Lot 4 which covers Northern Ireland has not yet been awarded and Lot 5 is also up for grabs, but the DWP have said they do not intend to use Lot 5 unless things go wrong with regional suppliers.
Atos are deeply unpopular with many claimants and disability organisations due to their methods of assessing claimants for employment and support allowance. On Monday of this week, the company was the subject of a Panorama documentary and a Dispatches documentary looking at alleged failings in the way they carry out the work capability assessment.
Capita, which runs the Criminal Records Bureau on behalf of the Home Office and is invariably referred to as ‘Crapita’ by Private Eye, has no history of carrying out medical assessments for state benefits. The company has been involved in a number of less than successful public service contracts in the past, however, including Individual Learning Accounts which were subject to fraudulent claims on an unprecedented scale and which were shut down after just one year.
Amongst the unsuccessful bidders for the contracts so far awarded are G4S who are still reeling from the Olympics security fiasco, Serco, Avanta, Ingeus Deloitte, APM UK, Reed In Partnership and Vertex.
You can read more about the award of contracts on the DWP website.
i'm joined up to thought some of you might be interested in reading it sharonxx
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hi sorry just realised that my blog got a bit mixed up what i meant to say was that this is from a site that i'm on and i thought that you might be interested in it
Thanks Sharonissexy, What a pile of poo!!!! surely we have enough unemployed civil service people that would be better at the job and cost less? again how many of these companies actually employ specialists in medical conditions and dieseases? xx Dizzyduck
I fail to understand who it saves money when the government outsorces departments to profit making comopanies. Surely the fact they are looking to make a profit is a clue to where their priorities are. Bonkers.
Suppose we have to remember that EVERY decision made by Government in this Country comes down to political expediency, and that this is true regardless of idealogy of any Party in Power on the day! When push does come to shove as in someone is forced by public/media demand, off they go tail between the legs with a very nice bonus in pocket, and up they pop somewhere else and havoc ensues on this very profitable little merry-go-round they have going! Our electoral 'system' (lol) as proven in 2010 is not designed to give us the opportunity to vote for the party we want, just to vote against the one we dont!! There appears to me to be 2 types of character in control, the just-plain-greedy and the egotistical-power-mad, and too often those that combine both! They have no conscience, and not the slightest idea of the actual impact they can have on the lives of the population down here @ the bottom or even any interest in trying to find out. For the foreseable future I'm afraid I cannot see any way of changing the status quo, and life generally will continue to be a constant struggle, especially for those of us without an effective voice or the energy to keep on fighting.
& isn't it sad? Perhaps i'm struggling more than usual at the moment, but it's starting to feel like there is no point to any of it. It's not about saving Tax Payers money, just about those with noses-in-trough seeing how much they can get out of it. Civilized? Law of the jungle and survival of the fittest still applies!
Am wondering exactly what the true cost of this little lot, this latest " bright idea/wheeze" is going to cost the dwp etc, the change of name, change of benefit...all the thousands of letters being sent out for starters.
Where exactly are the "savings" being made, by getting people off disability etc, when they are paying up to a BILLION to the idiot A..tossers. We can only wonder why the gov't insist on using such an unpopular, incompetant, uncaring, lying company. They really have not got the concept of how useless they are..well the system they have implimented...not fit for purpose spring to mind. But, we should expect little from a gov't who just do not listen to anyone or care what misery they inflict on us.
One can assume Atos being a French company...none or very little of it's massive profits will be kept here..in effect we're funding France..ppfftt, blood is beginning to boil.
Hi Jan, your comment reminded me of what the stupid council here did. They spent over 50 grand to hire a company to show them how to save money!!!! Well I know exactly where they can save money, (and I wont even charge them) about 50 grand for starters lol !!!!!
so does this mean they will be reassessing people who have been awarded it for life ... i was awarded it for life over 15years ago i have got worse not better through out this time the examination was degrading enough without having to go through it again phewwwww surely when awarded they can see the fraudulent claimers it's us who are genuinely ill and suffereing that it effects jeez come on get it sorted x
I've just lost my direct payments (help with daily living) because they say that my physical problems aren't adult services department, I'm too young to have my problems (60), so I'm being sent to mental health team!!! Will my ESA & DLA be next? I'd love to work, but am not able to - why can't they understand that?
I wonder if they would turn up for work if they were in constant pain, not to mention bad memory, lack of co-ordination & so, so exhausted? Bet they'd pull a sicky !
I just wish that someone high up in the government would get this dreadful disease (although I would not wish it on my worse enemy!!) then maybe it might give them am insight into what we are all going through.
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Sertraline, you thoughts
First step taken Yikes!
Might you have hypermobility syndrome rather than fibromyalgia?
A must read if you are going to ESA appeal
