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
Criticism of the Work Capability Assessment associated statistically with the unexpected deaths of hundreds of people. There is evidence of harm in individual cases from coroners' reports, and from the DWP's own internal investigations into dozens of claimants' deaths. However, data suggesting that "thousands" of people have died has not withstood expert analysis. Officially, the DWP does not accept that the WCA or the way it has been carried out has caused any deaths. A committee from the United Nations wrote, with regard to 33 deaths investigated in secret by the DWP, that it was "not aware of any attempts at objective, thorough, open and impartial