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 that: "...capability assessors too often have a culture of disbelief about disability, especially mental illness". Professor Louis Appleby leads the National Suicide Prevention Strategy in England. In February 2018 he told "Disability News Service" that sickness benefit recipients were "a high risk group" and, while it was rare for one thing alone to trigger suicide, "a protracted stressful benefit claim, feelings of being treated unfairly, and of course financial problems themselves can all contribute". Furthermore, on the question of claimants committing suicide as they tried to qualify for their benefits, Professor Appleby said: "I've no doubt for some people claiming