Criticism of the Work Capability Assessment assessments. On the same day, an Atos spokesman made it clear that the training curriculum was set by the DWP and duly followed by Atos, stating: "We do not deviate from government guidelines in our training". The Employment Minister was asked by the BBC about the allegations of bias but he replied with a general explanation of the principles underpinning the Incapacity Benefit reassessment programme. Tom Greatrex MP wrote to the Prime Minister to bring to his attention the whistleblower's allegations that the core assessment was "skewed against the claimant". Downing Street made no reply but simply passed the letter
Criticism of the Work Capability Assessment United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities said in 2016 that despite previous modifications to the WCA, it still paid too little attention to "personal circumstances and needs, and barriers faced by persons with disabilities to return to employment, particularly those of persons with intellectual and/or psychosocial disabilities". In its reply to the United Nations, the DWP stressed the efforts it was making to bridge the 'disability gap' and boost the number of disabled people in work. In 2016, Iain Duncan Smith described the WCA as having been "unbelievably harsh" when introduced under New Labour; the Labour