Criticism of the Work Capability Assessment thereby saving £7billion a year. A reassessment of long-term recipients was expected to start in 2009 but the start was delayed until 2011 while the test's criteria were reviewed. In 2012, the DWP's handling of its contract with Atos was the subject of a critical report by the National Audit Office (NAO). The Public Accounts Committee heard that in that year the DWP had paid Atos £112m to carry out WCAs. The chair of the committee told the BBC that the DWP got "far too many decisions wrong on claimants’ ability to work" and that this came at a "considerable
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