Criticism of the Work Capability Assessment oversaw the study" and named the lead experts as a professor of psychiatry, a consultant psychiatrist in learning disability, a professor of rheumatology, and an expert in human resources. The review's conclusion was that "the WCA produced consistent results on the whole, and is an accurate indicator of work capability compared with expert opinion". But the following year the firm that had carried out millions of WCAs on behalf of the DWP since 2008 said it had come to the conclusion that "in its current form, the WCA is not working for claimants, for DWP or for Atos Healthcare". The
Employment and Support Allowance "quid pro quo" - as it might be applied to sickness benefit claimants. When responding to the Gregg Review, the DWP said that the study had recommended that conditionality be applied to "the vast majority of people in receipt of Employment and Support Allowance". In October 2008, ESA and its eligibility test, the Work Capability Assessment, were introduced for new claims. Reformers were disappointed to find that the total number of people on sickness and incapacity benefits went "up", largely as a result of the financial crisis of 2008 and the consequent rise in background unemployment. Plans were made to