Criticism of the Work Capability Assessment OBR confirmed that the reforms themselves had done nothing to reduce levels of welfare spending — although a simple freezing of benefit payments, so that they did not rise with inflation, had limited the extent of fiscal failure. But in fiscal year 2016-17, the budget in question had nevertheless risen to £15 billion a year. In 2016, the NAO published another evaluation of the DWP's disability assessment contracts: it said the cost of each WCA had risen from £115 under Atos to £190 under Maximus, to no benefit to the Exchequer. A former chief economist at the DWP, Professor Jonathan
Criticism of the Work Capability Assessment Nick Clegg's former policy director added: "Capability assessors too often have a culture of disbelief about disability, especially mental illness". Dr Paul Litchfield helped to design the WCA in 2006 and he later reviewed its performance for parliament. Of the design phase, he said: A review undertaken by occupational heath expert Professor Malcolm Harrington in 2010 found that the test was too reliant on "computer systems and drop-down menus" and "was not working as well as it should" — but he felt that the suggestions he was making would improve the process, if adopted by the DWP. In February 2011,