Huge scale of people waiting for disability benefit revealed

The total backlog of people waiting to receive assessments for employment and support allowance (ESA) has now reached over 700,000 the Government has revealed.

Speaking to a parliamentary committee, British Minister for Disabled People Mike Penning said the massive number of people waiting for assessments was due to failings of contractor Atos, responsible for carrying out the fit-to-work tests.

Of the figure, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said 394,000 people are new ESA claimants, 234,000 currently receive the benefit but are due to have their eligibility revaluated and 84,000 are waiting to be moved over to ESA and are currently still on incapacity benefit.

Jane Harris, campaigns director at Leonard Cheshire Disability has called for the Government to improve the length of time it takes for people to be assessed, and wants the tests to become fairer.

Responding to the findings she said: “News of the huge scale of the benefits backlog released by the Government today should be a wake-up call for everyone who cares about disabled people.

“These delays mean hundreds of thousands of disabled people are being left without money to live on and they and their families are being put through months of worry and distress.

“Government must take immediate action to make sure the tests are fairer and happen at a faster pace. Otherwise disabled people will be left waiting without any money to buy basics like food, clothes and electricity. All of us need to know that if we can't work due to a stroke, car accident or any other health problem or disability, we will be able to eat, clothe ourselves and live a dignified life."

Atos’s contract is due to finish in August 2015, after a mutual agreement between the Government and Atos agreed to end the contract early. Describing the decision to end the contract, Mr Penning said it was because he had lost faith in the firm.

However Atos’s chief executive, Gillian Guy said problems surrounding the (ESA) will not be fixed by changing to a new contractor and said the abuse some of its staff members had received during the contract was unfair and unacceptable.

Ms Guy told the BBC: “They are professional trained people, they care about the job they do. They are doing a very good job of applying the legislation the government has laid out and despite that they are being vilified for it.

“I'm not sure that's an issue that can be resolved by a new provider just throwing money at that.

"Unless ministers make changes to how assessments are carried out then sick and disabled people face another three years of delays, anxiety and unfair treatment.