Iain Duncan Smiths #disability #benefits reforms will be at a much slower pace at the discretion of ministers - the #reassessment system is struggling to cope. The decision has been made just days before tens of thousands of people were due to begin transferring off the existing Disability Living Allowance to the new Personal Independence Payment. But ahead of the intended 28 October start date – this coming Monday – ministers have quietly rushed through emergency regulations that will delay the roll-out. The nationwide reassessment programme will now be implemented at the discretion of ministers. Official guidance produced by the department concluded delays in the system meant there was an urgent need to reign in the programme, just days before it was due to begin. It says the department is now looking for ways of implementing the plan in a more gradual, controlled and manageable manner. Internal analysis of 32,000 cases filed by people requesting disability benefits for the first time has revealed that the assessment process is taking substantially longer than expected. Stages affected by the delays include the medical assessments of claimants carried out by outsourcers Capita and Atos Origin Around 25,000 people a month had been expected to have their needs automatically reassessed from this Monday onwards. But as a result of the policy change, reassessment will now only take place “where suitable arrangements are in place” and only existing claimants in Wales, the Midlands and East Anglia are at risk of being reassessed in the near future.
Posted on: Sat, 26 Oct 2013 11:34:15 +0000
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