women with visible and invisible disabilities
Getting Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) depends on the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) and a points system. The massive UK-wide campaign against the WCA and Atos (the multinational company which used to carry out the WCA) and successful legal challenge against the WCA has had a huge impact. The British Medical Association, representing doctors, and many MPs, voted … Read more
In February, the all-party Work and Pensions Committee of MPs issued two scathing reports on the PIP and ESA assessments done by Atos, Capita and Maximus — on claimant experiences, and recommendations on the system. The MPs are awaiting the government’s response. They got nearly 4,000 submissions, mainly from claimants, who continue to have a … Read more
The Work and Pensions Committee of MPs has secured a commitment from the government to stop rubber-stamping benefit refusals at the first stage (mandatory reconsideration). This is a result of the 4,000+ testimonies to the inquiry into the ESA and PIP tests, mainly from disabled claimants, about this injustice, and evidence from the DWP union PCS … Read more
Read our leaflets with guidance for professionals on the rules you can quote in letters and reports, for your patient or client to be exempted from the face-to-face exams: ESA or Universal Credit — read or download and print here Based on the regulations built into ESA/Universal Credit on “substantial risk to health” — mental … Read more
We gathered our experiences of the benefit assessments, to send to the all-party Work and Pensions Select Committee of MPs. They are looking into assessments because so many people who are refused are winning their case at appeal. We say: Assessments for ESA and PIP are set up to deny claimants the disability benefits they need … Read more