After Atos Healthcare: is the Employment and Support Allowance fit for purpose and does the Work Capability Assessment have a future?

Warren, Jon; Garthwaite, Kayleigh; Bambra, Clare

doi:10.1080/09687599.2014.948746

Cited by 13 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…The evidence base to date suggests that the welfare cuts have been particularly damaging to mental health (Garthwaite, ; Patrick, ; Warren et al, ). Two key features of the “welfare reform” program had a detrimental impact on mental health.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The changeover from Disability Living Allowance (DLA) to the new Personal Independence Payment (PIP) has led to more stringent medical tests and a similar move towards time‐limited awards (Beatty & Fothergill, ). The Work Capability Assessment (WCA) has come under particular criticism since its inception, with its viability and credibility heavily criticized by the people assessed under it (Warren, Garthwaite, & Bambra, ). The ESA was initially introduced in 2008 by the Labour Government with a primary focus on job activation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, it was implemented and reformed from 2010 onwards and forms part of a wider raft of benefit cuts. Mental health charities have voiced widespread concerns that the process is damaging people's mental health (Mind, ), and media reports have linked the WCA to numerous deaths (Warren et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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“Treading in sand”: A qualitative study of the impact of austerity on inequalities in mental health

2017

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Successive UK governments since 2010 have adopted policies of austerity characterized by public spending and social security cuts.There has been little qualitative research exploring the effects of these policies on inequalities in mental health. This article presents findings from a case study of Stockton-on-Tees, a local authority in the North East of England with exceptionally high spatial and socio-economic inequalities. Qualitative interviews were undertaken with people experiencing mental health problems in different areas of the local authority, alongside interviews with key stakeholders. The findings offer an insight into spatial inequalities in people's lives, and the impact of deprivation on mental health. They suggest that austerity measures are having a damaging impact on individuals and communities in the most deprived areas of this unequal place, whilst leaving those from less deprived areas relatively unscathed-with the exception of increased job insecurity. The cuts in social security are impacting on health through both material and psychosocial pathways including increased financial hardship and chronic stress. The intrusion of the state into people's everyday lives was such that the notion of the "home as an asylum" was broken, giving many no respite from the draining day-to-day experiences of poverty. The findings are discussed in relation to the continuing program of welfare changes and public spending cuts in the United Kingdom, including avenues for further research and key recommendations for policymakers. KEYWORDS health inequalities, neighborhood effects, social determinants of health, social policy

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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“Treading in sand”: A qualitative study of the impact of austerity on inequalities in mental health

2017

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“…For instance, a familiar criticism of mandatory reconsideration is that reviewers habitually afford more weight to medical reports produced by the DWP's contracted-out health care professionals, such as ATOS and Capita and routinely disregard other types of medical evidence (Gray, 2017). This is all the more alarming given that the quality of such health care reports has been repeatedly criticised and tribunals consider such reports as only one item of evidence to be considered alongside other medical evidence (Warren, 2014).…”

Section: Administrative Review In Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

Mapping current issues in administrative justice: austerity and the ‘more bureaucratic rationality’ approach

Thomas

Tomlinson

2017

Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law

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This article critically reviews recent developments in the administrative justice system; in particular, it considers three key themes: improving initial decisions; administrative review; and the future of tribunals. In each of these areas, some aspects of administrative justice work well, but austerity has presented acute challenges in ensuring the fair and just treatment of people through restrictions upon legal aid; the withdrawal of some appeal rights; and the expansion of administrative review. Consequently, the system is moving away from a ‘legal’ model of administrative justice to the ‘bureaucratic rationality’ model, which focuses upon accurate and efficient implementation. However, the reality does not correspond with the goals of the model. Rather than accurate and efficient implementation of policy, what we find is poor decision-making made by junior officials with insufficient quality controls. Digitising tribunals may have potential benefits in terms of increased accessibility. Nonetheless, the prospects for administrative justice are weak

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“…Controversially at this time, Atos had also been awarded the contract to manage an essential part of the disability benefits assessment process on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Since then, there had been a wealth of publicity linking the assessment process to numerous deaths of people who had recently undergone or were about to be reassessed for the new benefit regime (Warren, Garthwaite and Bambra, 2014). The 'Atos Games' therefore formed a series of protest events to coincide with key dates in the Paralympics.…”

Section: The Problem With 'Established' News Mediamentioning

confidence: 99%

Disability activism in the new media ecology: campaigning strategies in the digital era

Pearson

Trevisan

2015

Disability & Society

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Disability activism in the new media ecology: Campaigning strategies in the digital era.Key words: disability activism, Internet, new media ecology, Paralympics, welfare reform, austerity. AbstractThis article examines the changing nature of disability activism through the influence of social media. As disabled people in the UK have been subjected to acute austerity, this has coincided with a new era of disability activism channelled through increased social media participation. Drawing on the analysis of one group's online activities and a qualitative content analysis of disability protest coverage in traditional news media during the 2012 Paralympic Games, this article positions this shift in the broader framework of 'new media ecology ' (Hoskins and O'Loughlin, 2010). We explore how emerging structures of disability activism have begun to offer a more visible profile to challenge government policy and negative stereotypes of disabled people. This highlights the usefulness of campaigning strategies for generating favourable news coverage for disability protest.

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After Atos Healthcare: is the Employment and Support Allowance fit for purpose and does the Work Capability Assessment have a future?

Cited by 13 publications

References 11 publications

“Treading in sand”: A qualitative study of the impact of austerity on inequalities in mental health

“Treading in sand”: A qualitative study of the impact of austerity on inequalities in mental health

Mapping current issues in administrative justice: austerity and the ‘more bureaucratic rationality’ approach

Disability activism in the new media ecology: campaigning strategies in the digital era

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