Professor Harrington, wants to hear from you - WCA..

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Have you had a work capability assessment, the medical test for employment and support allowance?

Or better still, have you had more than one?

If so, Professor Harrington, the independent reviewer of the WCA, wants to hear from you as he gathers evidence for his third independent review.

The deadline for responses is 7th September 2012.

There’s a problem ! ! !

Unfortunately, Harrington’s team have not made it easy to respond to the latest call for evidence. The ‘survey’ is a list of questions at the end of a .pdf document, which claimants have to try to copy and paste or reype in order to take part.

You can download the full call to evidence from this link,
TEXT VERSION

Alternatively

Use the online questionnaire

Alternatively, we put the questions into an online questionnaire. You can complete this and have your answers emailed to you. If you’re happy with your answers you can then forward the email to Harrington’s team as your response.

If you do use the online questionnaire, there are some points to remember:

You MUST forward your results email to Professor Harrington at [EMAIL="wca.evidence@dwp.gsi.gov.uk"]wca.evidence@dwp.gsi.gov.uk[/EMAIL] if you want him to see it, we only send it to you.

You have 20 MINUTES to complete the questionnaire before the session ends. If you need to type long answers to some of the questions you may want use the text file above.

There is a maximum limit of 2,000 characters for each of the boxes, again if you’ve lots to say, use the text questionnaire above.

online questionnaire

SOURCE - benefitsandwork.co.uk

And if you are not sure what all this is about.
There are two TV investigations into WCA:

Dispatches. 8pm, Channel 4 Monday 30 July

“Using undercover filming, reporter Jackie Long investigates the shocking processes used to assess whether sickness and disability benefit claimants should be declared fit for work.”

Disabled or faking it? 8.30pm, BBC2 Monday 30 July

“Panorama investigates the government's plans to end the so-called 'sick note culture' and their attempts to get millions of people off disability benefits and into work. In Britain's modern welfare state, millions are being paid to private companies to assess sick and disabled claimants but is the system working? Or are new tests wrongly victimising those who deserve support the most?”

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Secret filming of training given to doctors recruited by the private company Atos to assess whether sickness and disability benefit applicants are fit for work suggests that staff are monitored to ensure they do not find excessive numbers of claimants eligible.

Dr Steve Bick, a GP with 20 years' experience, applied for a job as an assessor with Atos to carry out the work capability assessment (WCA), and secretly filmed his training for Channel 4's Dispatches programme, which will be broadcast on Monday 30 July at 8pm. Undercover filming shows Bick being told by his trainer that he will be watched carefully over the number of applicants he found eligible for the highest rate of disability payments.

guardian.co.uk

[Deleted User]

harrington is a govt stooge

mardatha

Many thanks for posting this, I hope it helps people

Le73Uq86Uv

Did you see the TV programs?

flight747

The whole lots at the government and ATOS should be SACKED for illegal in branch of human rights against us all. They should NOT BE ALLOWED! There is a LAW of discrimination act against us!

We all should FIGHT IT, APPEAL IT, FIGHT IT!

mynameistallulah

woodbine wrote: »

harrington is a govt stooge

So why has the govt dispensed of his services because he spoke out on behalf of claimants? It's pretty clear you don't know what you are talking about.

rogerblack

ATOS being sacked will change very little, unless the regulations are significantly changed.
Most aspects of the work capability assessment, and ATOSs part in it are quite legal.

For many, even most people, the assessment is accurate according to the law.
Are there arguments for some about lack of 'reasonable adjustment' - certainly.

If anyone else was doing the same assessments, the results would me much the same.

Spamfree_2

flight747 wrote: »

The whole lots at the government and ATOS should be SACKED for illegal in branch of human rights against us all. They should NOT BE ALLOWED! There is a LAW of discrimination act against us!

We all should FIGHT IT, APPEAL IT, FIGHT IT!

If the government was sacked, certain people would lose their £20,000 a year benefits, do you think that's a good idea?

flight747

Spamfree wrote: »

If the government was sacked, certain people would lose their £20,000 a year benefits, do you think that's a good idea?

I don't get £20,000 a year only getting £99.15 per week on ESA WRAG and that only last 3 months limit before revert back to JSA at £71.00 a week

melbury

Instead of this initial hit on disabled people, surely they could save a lot on welfare spending if they only paid child benefit and CTC for a maximum of two children. I have seen so many people advocating this and I don't see why it should upset anybody.

I do, however, agree with people who have been on Incapacity Benefit for years being re-assessed and moved over to ESA, that is only right and fair.