In a new paper, Investigating the real reason for the misery of ‘fit for work’ assessments, Kaliya Franklin, a leading independent disability campaigner, suggests that government policy has undermined the objectivity of Work Capability Assessments (WCA).
She argues that, instead of blaming Atos, for poor assessments we should blame the DWP for imposing, in effect, a quota system.
For example, currently the DWP expects 16% of those assessed to be placed in the support group. Any health professional who puts a higher number of claimants in this group may be subject to a ‘target audit’.
The paper implies that claimants not only have to satisfy the WCA but are also subject to a quota system, which may mean they fail the test.
To view the paper go to http://www.centreforwelfarereform.org/library/type/pdfs/how-norms-become-targets.html