How Fair Are Incapacity Tests?
posted: 30/06/2010
The government has just announced an independent review of how they assess the fitness of people claiming benefits for being too ill or disabled to work. People who claim Employment and Support Allowance and Incapacity Benefit have medical assessments to help decide their claim. Many people living with HIV claim these benefits.
The fairness of medical assessments will be examined in a national review of incapacity assessments, chaired by Professor Malcolm Harrington, an occupational health expert. He will produce a report by the end of the year on whether the assessments are fair and transparent.
Burnley first
It has also just been announced that Burnley people, including people living with HIV, will be among the first to transfer from Incapacity Benefit to Employment Support Allowance – and that will involved one of the assessments that are about to be reviewed.
Ministers have said they will starting two pilots projects to reassess the 2.6 million existing incapacity benefit claimants using the Employment Support Allowance rules. 1,700 people claiming Incapacity Benefit in Burnley and Aberdeen will start to be reassessed from October 2010, and then this reassessment will be extended nationwide from February 2011.
The assessments try to decide whether people claiming the benefits are in fact able to work, or whether they need some support, or whether they cannot work at all and need full sickness benefits for being unable to work at all.
Assessments not fair and not working
Disability charities say the current assessments tests are too inflexible, and fail to take into account how long-term conditions (like HIV) can vary from day to day, or from week to week. George House Trust knows there are serious problems with the way these incapacity assessments are done and that people with HIV face a high rate of wrong refusals.
Atos Healthcare (who have the government contract for doing Employment Support Allowance assessments) appear to refuse to record basic HIV information like someone’s CD4 count, admit their own HIV ignorance, don’t refer people with HIV to doctors for a full medical assessment as they should, refuse to consider the ‘exceptional circumstances’ rules (regulations 29 and 35), and ignore medical reports from HIV doctors.
The advisers at Manchester Advice who specialise in HIV are winning appeals almost before they open their mouths. Independent Tribunals are disturbed and surprised at how plain evidence of obvious incapacity for work due to HIV is ignored, and the failure to follow rules and proper procedures.
Disability Discrimination
George House Trust believe this is strong evidence suggesting disability discrimination in the way people with HIV are treated by Atos Healthcare and the Department for Work and Pensions. We are considering formal complaints and other action.
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