Atos Breaking news

Whilst I am sure many will celebrate, such a sudden withdrawal could actually be very bad news for many claimants awaiting assessment for all sorts of reasons.

Mike Penning, Minister for Disabled People, said:

“The previous government appointed Atos as the sole provider for carrying out Work Capability Assessments and since then we have carried out several independent reviews and made significant improvements to the assessment.

Today we are announcing that we are seeking a new provider to replace Atos, with the view to increasing the number of assessments and reducing waiting times.

I am pleased to confirm that Atos will not receive a single penny of compensation from the taxpayer for the early termination of their contract.

Quite the contrary, Atos has made a substantial financial settlement to the department.”

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/benefits-assessments-atos-quits-government-3290777

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/atos-is-out-government-seeks-new-company-to-carry-out-fit-for-work-tests-9218505.html

I wonder whether the fact that the IB migration was expedited is at the foot of this…

I have just spoken to

Peter Dodd
UK Customer Relations Manager
Atos Healthcare

and he has informed me that the ESA WCA done by ATOS will continue to be done by ATOS as far as he has been informed.

As for PIP I don’t know nor does he.

And there’s this

http://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/news/2688-liars-mps-use-dns-investigation-to-accuse-atos-over-pip-contract?utm_source=iContact&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Benefits and Work&utm_content=B+Newsletter+26+March+2014

from the bbc story -

- Atos says it will “be transferring our infrastructure and employees to ensure consistency of service to those going through the process.”

- Atos will continue to carry out assessments in Northern Ireland under a separate contract

here’s mike penning’s written ministerial statement ... see attached

Atos says it will “be transferring our infrastructure and employees to ensure consistency of service to those going through the process.”

That would somewhat undermine the point of getting rid of them.

atos have now issued a press release @

http://www.mynewsdesk.com/uk/atos-healthcare/pressreleases/early-exit-from-wca-contract-977418

We will be transferring our infrastructure and employees to ensure consistency of service to those going through the process. There will be no change for those applying for Employment and Support Allowance.

There isn’t a facepalm in the world big enough to do justice to that statement…..