Commenting on the Work and Pensions select committee report into PIP and ESA assessments, Sue Bott, deputy chief executive of Disability Rights UK said:
"Sadly there are no surprises in the strong language being used by the select committee in this report - hundreds of thousands of disabled people are being failed by the assessment services for disability benefits.
"The pervasive distrust in the system blights the claims process and creates misery for disabled people when they are in need of support.
"The recording of assessments, and the early provision of assessor reports to claimants and their advisors, would go some way to improving matters and we would strongly recommend the government implement those ideas as soon as possible.
"It's ironic that so many disabled people are sanctioned within our benefits system when the assessment companies in the shape of Atos and Capita are making such a poor fist of doing what they are paid for - hundreds of millions of pounds of tax payers money for a very poor service indeed.
"The government should, as the committee says, look closely at whether the assessment process should be brought in-house.
Ultimately the government needs to completely overhaul what is a flawed system and replace it with one that identifies the true extra costs of living with disability. and is based on what disabled people can do with support rather than on what they can't."
For more information, please contact Philip Connolly at Disability Rights UK on 07706 643667
See also the Work and Pensions select committee press release
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