Criticism of the Work Capability Assessment Initially, both the DWP and Atos denied having had any target for getting claimants "off" sickness benefits. However, both eventually admitted that Support Group "norms" were being used nationwide, though they both denied that the purpose of "targeted audit" was to limit the number of claimants placed in the Support Group. Atos said that the audit process triggered by the breach of a "norm" was intended to ensure consistency across the firm's UK team: if the assessor's reports met the DWP's expectations, the healthcare professional would not be asked to change their recommendations. In May 2013, another doctor who had
Paul Litchfield own royal college). He has been given the honorific status of Fellow by both. In 2006, Litchfield was a member of the DWP's Mental Health Technical Working Group, which was set up to design a new mental health assessment for Incapacity Benefit claimants that would "identify accurately those who in spite of their condition are fit to continue in work". This work shaped the criteria used to gauge mental function in the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) that was introduced in 2008. In 2009, he co-wrote a report on mental health and the workplace for the DWP. It focussed on the