Disabled people are being trapped in an “assessment nightmare” by routinely undergoing a barrage of evaluations under the current benefits regime, with dangerous impacts on their health and personal lives, the chief of a major welfare testing scheme has warned.{jcomments on}
Dr Stephen Duckworth, head of the assessments scheme run by contracting firm Capita, which tests people applying for Personal Independence Payments in many parts of the country, told The Independent:
“Sadly disabled people’s lives have become filled with assessments and I think the consequences of this are pretty dire.”
The PIP scheme is being phased in to replace Disability Living Allowance, a non-means tested benefit designed to help with the extra costs of living with a long-term health condition.
It has proved deeply controversial, however, taking some people more than six months to find out if they are eligible for the payments – causing “severe stress and uncertainty”, according to an official report by MPs last month.
Dr Duckworth, who is himself disabled, serves as chief executive of Capita PIP, which is overseeing the roll-out of the benefits system in the Midlands, Wales and Northern Ireland.
He said the evaluation process was adding to a wider culture of prejudice, particularly in the workplace.
“When it comes to recruitment, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that there is discrimination taking place,” he said in an interview. “In the corporate setting, women sometimes argue there’s a glass ceiling that means they can’t get through into the boardroom – but for disabled people lucky enough to be in employment, they often remain on the ‘sticky floor’.
Read the full article in the Independent
