Criticism of the Work Capability Assessment oversaw the study" and named the lead experts as a professor of psychiatry, a consultant psychiatrist in learning disability, a professor of rheumatology, and an expert in human resources. The review's conclusion was that "the WCA produced consistent results on the whole, and is an accurate indicator of work capability compared with expert opinion". But the following year the firm that had carried out millions of WCAs on behalf of the DWP since 2008 said it had come to the conclusion that "in its current form, the WCA is not working for claimants, for DWP or for Atos Healthcare". The
Incapacity Benefit medical assessments using a new semi-structured interview technique, with the findings recorded in digital format. This meant that from 2008, most new claims were scrutinised by a healthcare professional; those whose claims reached the threshold for eligibility were granted ESA - either shortly after the initial assessment, following an internal review of the initial decision, or after an external appeal. After the introduction of ESA, the number of remaining Incapacity Benefit recipients dwindled (largely as people came off the benefit for reasons such as reaching the State Pension age): by early 2011, the Incapacity Benefit caseload had shrunk by more