BBC Scotland - Who's Cheating Who?

[humpy07]

Have just watched this interesting documentary on BBC Scotland about the downfalls with the Employment and Support Allowance scheme and the company who provide the medical assessments, ATOS Healthcare. As some of you may remember, I'm currently claiming (or at least trying to claim) ESA, and have an ongoing complaint with ATOS over their treatment of me, a wheelchair user.

The programme highlighted how inadequate the assessments are, and even had the Professor who designed the scheme saying that it was now being implemented incorrectly, and that the roll out to all previous incapacity benefit claimants should not go ahead. The show also had an interview with with Danny Alexander MP (Sec of State for Scotland), who said that the number of complaints he has received suggests that the system was working against the genuine claimants. Not even he could get a full copy of the contract between DWP and ATOS!

ATOS were granted the contract by DWP to provide these services for 7 years, and will net almost half a billion!

Did anyone see this show, and what do you think? Should the system be changed, or is it better to turn everyone down, and make the genuine appeal and go to tribunals?

[humpy07]

This programme is now available to watch on BBC Iplayer...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/...10_Whos_Cheating_Who/