Source BBC: One in two people who appealed in court against a decision to deny them disability benefits were successful, analysis of five years of data shows.
Source BBC: One in two people who appealed in court against a decision to deny them disability benefits were successful, analysis of five years of data shows.
In total, more than 550,000 people won an appeal over their benefits at tribunal between 2013 and 2018.
Ann Barker, who has bipolar disorder, said she was tempted to give up, but had twice fought a decision at tribunal and won.
The government said only around 5% of disability decisions were overturned.
Benefits assessments are carried out on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) by the private contractors Capita, the Independent Assessment Services (formerly called Atos) and Maximus.
The success rates showed benefits assessments were beset by “poor decision-making” and “obvious inaccuracies”, charities said.
In 2018, the Commons Work and Pensions Committee said failings in disability benefits assessments had led to a “pervasive lack of trust” in the system. It said ministers should consider taking the process back in-house. Read on.
