Mike Penning Needs To Read This
Let’s be very clear : This is cause for celebration. It’s reputation in absolute tatters, Atos was left with no choice but to slink off, tail between its legs to lick its wounds. They have administered a failing test badly and hundreds of thousands have suffered their incompetence.
But for nearly 3 years now we’ve been warning that this was the only possible outcome. Atos would always fall because the work capability assessments themselves are so badly designed. They were contracted to fall. They were always the scapegoat. It’s astonishing really that none of their board could see it, and as late as last year were bidding for yet more disability assessment contracts for the new PIP (personal independence payments, the replacement for DLA or disability living allowance). How do governments introduce appalling schemes designed to hurt and harm? Make sure there is a middle man, then when the inevitable collapse comes, you can deny all responsibility.
But DWP ARE responsible and we must not let anyone forget it for a second. This is a very dangerous time for our campaigns. It is entirely possible that the DWP will simply replace Atos with Capita or G4S or Serco, the test will still be fundamentally flawed and nothing will change. We can’t let that happen. It would be unconscionable for the DWP to re-tender the WCA contract without first conducting root and branch reform of the processes that guide it.
Same Difference 
if there is money on the end of it someone will take it up
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Perhaps they could donate money for laptops, but only if they were targeting really gullible idiots for donations
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Considering that in the ATOS statement they said “we will help to move our staff to the new provider to ensure a seamless transfer” or words to that effect, the writing is on the wall…
Nothing will change, the processes, staff, and computer systems will just move from one company to another and nothing will change…
The DWP will enforce the WCA by frigging the process to remove eligibility for ever greater numbers (by awarding lower points for more indicators), but will probably introduce more paperwork and tracking, so that results will be verifiable and will work (and be proven to work with lower number of appeals being won as the “process will not be at fault”) but more and more people will loose out…
To take it to its logical conclusion, by setting and awarding 0 points to every indicator no one will be eligible for ESA, the C*ntservatives and the C*ntservative democrats will then congratulate themselves by eliminating (on paper at least) all the sick and disabled in a master piece of Orwellian double speak and will have the combined powers of God and Jesus as everyone is now cured.
Que heavenly choir and the rapture
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It could be out of the frying pan as far as this episode is concerned, I see no possibility of the government ending this attack on the needy, there mantra “for hardworking people” says it all.
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Serco or Capita or G4S will take it on irrespective of any bad press as these companies and those that work for them in the majority have no morels in the slightest
the bottom line is at the end of the day is on how much profit can be made and if errors are made and people die then so be it
we can cut and run just like ATOS if the deaths stack up in which I’m sure they will
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