Work and Pensions written question – answered at on 12 February 2013.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many incapacity benefit claimants who have been assessed for employment and support allowance have been placed in the work-related activity group; how many such claimants did not undergo a face-to-face assessment with an Atos Healthcare professional; how many have lodged an appeal; and how many have had their decision overturned.
The Department regularly publishes official statistics on the reassessment of incapacity benefit claimants for employment and support allowance. The latest publication was released in January 2013 and can be found here:
http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/workingage/index.php?page=esa_ibr
This publication shows all the available data on the number of Support Group and Work Related Activity Group decisions. It does not include the number of claimants who undergo a face-to-face assessment or those who are given a paper-based assessment. This information is not readily available and has not previously been published as official statistics.
When someone claiming incapacity benefits is reassessed for ESA, they will only have to undergo a face-to-face work capability assessment (WCA) if there is insufficient evidence for a paper-based WCA to be carried out.
Information on appeal outcomes for incapacity benefit reassessments is not yet available.
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