27th March 2014
Atos and the DWP have agreed that Atos will withdraw early from its contract to deliver Work Capability Assessments, with Atos paying penalty fees to the DWP. Atos will continue to deliver WCAs this year whilst a new provider is found. Atos will then transfer its staff and infrastructure to the new provider.
Articles on the withdrawal include pieces from Latent Existence, People First England in the Independent and the DWP statement.
24th February 2014
All reassessments for ESA are being halted for two years, Benefits and Work have found out. The memo that B&W obtained through an FoI request says that this is an operational decision, and therefore ministers and claimants do not need to be told. More information is available on the Benefits and Work website.
The Hardest Hit 