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
Incapacity Benefit year [2012]" and as having told the DWP this before the Incapacity Benefit reassessment programme began. The DWP told the newspaper it had no record of a warning of this kind being given by Professor Harrington. Furthermore, the minister who had formally initiated the 'roll out' had said in Parliament that beforehand Professor Harrington had told him: "I believe the system is in sufficient shape for you to proceed with Incapacity Benefit reassessment". When asked later about this discrepancy, Professor Harrington replied: The Incapacity Benefit reassessment programme had originally been expected to save seven billion pounds a year from the