Criticism of the Work Capability Assessment assessments. On the same day, an Atos spokesman made it clear that the training curriculum was set by the DWP and duly followed by Atos, stating: "We do not deviate from government guidelines in our training". The Employment Minister was asked by the BBC about the allegations of bias but he replied with a general explanation of the principles underpinning the Incapacity Benefit reassessment programme. Tom Greatrex MP wrote to the Prime Minister to bring to his attention the whistleblower's allegations that the core assessment was "skewed against the claimant". Downing Street made no reply but simply passed the letter
Criticism of the Work Capability Assessment that: "...capability assessors too often have a culture of disbelief about disability, especially mental illness". Professor Louis Appleby leads the National Suicide Prevention Strategy in England. In February 2018 he told "Disability News Service" that sickness benefit recipients were "a high risk group" and, while it was rare for one thing alone to trigger suicide, "a protracted stressful benefit claim, feelings of being treated unfairly, and of course financial problems themselves can all contribute". Furthermore, on the question of claimants committing suicide as they tried to qualify for their benefits, Professor Appleby said: "I've no doubt for some people claiming