Atos has been heavily criticised for both the quality and timescale of its assessments.

 

The poor quality was amply demonstrated in figures I obtained from the DWP last year.

 

These showed that more than half of the appeals against “fit for work” decisions for new claims in Brighton and Hove between October 2008 and May 2012 were successful (see http://bit.ly/1g6vvSM ).

 

In other words, the initial decision making process by Atos has been woefully inadequate.

 

Meanwhile, significant delays add to worry and anxiety for people already facing huge stress through illness.

 

It’s not unusual for Atos to give no timescale at all, as described by constituent Wayne Humphries in an ITV feature on yesterday’s demonstration, which you can watch here:

 

 

The lengthy wait for an Atos assessment is counterproductive, not only in exacerbating existing pressures, but also in undermining steps that people have taken towards independence.

 

For example, I’ve heard from a constituent who is more physically independent thanks to a wheelchair – but she’s in danger of losing this due to funding problems arising from Atos’s delay in assessing her case.

 

Further to the above, a significant proportion of claimants will suffer from complex and fluctuating mental health, which won’t be helped by Atos delays.

 

The Government might just be listening - there have been suggestions this week that the contract will not be offered to Atos again, when it expires next year.  

 

But it's not just the company that's wrong - it's the culture that punishes people who are sick, and judges them guilty until proven innocent.

 

Yesterday we stood strong together in Brighton and Hove to speak out over Atos; I will continue to speak out both locally and in Parliament over these humiliating and demeaning assessments that simply serve to make sick people even sicker.