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
Incapacity Benefit had not changed significantly; what had changed was the rate at which recipients were coming "off" the benefit to move back into work (after their illness had begun to improve, for instance, or by finding a job "despite" their disability) - it had fallen. The bulk of the rise in the caseload occurred during the late 1980s, the 1990s and the first years of the 21st century. In 2004, the caseload began to "fall" slowly. Ministers complained about a "sick-note culture" that allowed people to drift onto Incapacity Benefit. A medical certificate from a GP is the first step onto