RE: Capita has taken on a five-year lease at Grange Park20 Oct 2023 16:43
Linda Burnip, co-founder of Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC), said: “This is very welcome news although whether Serco will be any better remains to be seen.”
She added: “The damage caused to disabled people, and the number of claimants driven to their deaths by the actions and assessments carried out by Atos on behalf of the government, should never be forgotten.”
Paula Peters, another DPAC steering group member, said the end of Atos assessments was “welcome news”, but other companies carrying out assessments were “still denying disabled people financial support and denying disability and causing distress and harm”.
She added: “We’ve a lot of campaigning to continue with.”
Tom Pursglove, the minister for disabled people, announced this week that Serco was the successful bidder for the £338 million contract to carry out WCAs and PIP assessments in south-west England, over the five years from 2024.
This was the last of five contracts to be awarded by DWP, covering assessments in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Under DWP’s new Functional Assessment Service, the successful bidder in each region will carry out both PIP assessments and WCAs, although a Conservative government would eventually phase out WCAs if it won the next general election.
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