Last Nights News at Ten

Did anyone else see the former ATOS doctor on News At Ten last night.  he didn’t really say anything that hasn’t been known or suspected for some time but I thought it was significant that there is now enough concern about ATOS for it to be an item on the national news.

It was on the BBC rolling news channel too.  He seemed quite emotional at one point too didn’t he?  I was thinking while watching about the whole credibility issue and whether it would be worth referring to at the outest of every ESA appeal I repped at.  I haven’t decided yet as I think more evidence needs to emerge about the specific allegations he made which were tantamount to ones of corruption.

here’s the bbc and guardian reports -

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22546036

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/may/16/atos-doctor-claimants-biased-medical-assessments

I’m not sure how relevant it might be to a specific appeal. The fact that the medical assessment was (being charitable here) ‘flawed’ does not in my view entitle a claimant to ESA , the only route to entitlement is through those things set out in the ESA regs and the fact that the assessment was ‘less good than it might have been’ (still being charitable but its getting harder to keep going) can’t be a substitute for that.

It is bit of a speculation but I wonder if it might be argued that a claimant who failed to attend an assesment because he or she had a well founded belief that it would be biased or prejudiced could be held to have ‘good cause’ for not attending and continue to be paid at the assessment rate?

nevip - 17 May 2013 11:45 AM

I was thinking while watching about the whole credibility issue and whether it would be worth referring to at the outest of every ESA appeal I repped at.

I know approaches vary but how many tribunals take much notice of ESA85s anyway these days rather than looking at the case completely afresh? It will be intersting to see if Harrington’s successor will take a more robust approach to the failings of the WCA process! It does annoy when journalist state that the process was introduced by Labour in 2008 rather than by the Tories in 1996 - that old political trick of changing the name of the process to make it look different!

The interview was also feature on Radio 4 PM programme yetserday.