Two hated mega-firms are being handed £170million of fresh taxpayer cash to run “dysfunctional” benefit assessments, the Mirror can reveal.
Atos and Capita have had their lucrative contracts with the government extended for the FOURTH time without going out to competition.
It means the outsourcing giants will keep assessing Brits for Personal Independent Payment (PIP), the UK’s main disability benefit, until March 2024 - nearly seven years after their deals were meant to expire in 2017.
The contracts were extended due to reforms of the assessment system - including ones which could ditch fit-for-work tests in their current form - taking longer than expected.
But campaigners slammed the ultra-long pact, which has paid Atos more than £1.2billion and Capita £400m despite a litany of complaints.
Since PIP launched in 2013, 336,000 people have been denied benefits at an Atos or Capita assessment - only to overturn the decision at a tribunal.
Even after reforms, more than two-thirds (68%) of benefit claimants who appeal to a tribunal win their case.
Marc Francis of the Z2K Trust, an anti-poverty charity, said: “It cannot be right that Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) simply rolls forward its contracts.
“Over the past decade, disabled and seriously unwell people have been left at the mercy of a completely dysfunctional assessments regime.
“For many, [it] seems designed to deny them the Social Security they need to live on and should be entitled to.
“Instead of extending these contracts and causing even more misery, ministers should suspend its use of these discredited and demeaning assessments and base decisions on the expert evidence of those involved in disabled people’s care and support.”
Atos - branded as Independent Assessment Services (IAS) - and Capita originally won deals to run PIP assessments until July 2017.
That deadline was extended to July 2019, then July 2021, then again to July 2023 as reforms were delayed due to the Covid pandemic.
DWP ministers are now planning to let a “single service” carry out PIP assessments and ‘fit-for-work’ tests for other benefits from March 2024.
But that means the end date for Atos and Capita’s contracts has been delayed again by seven months, until 1 March 2024.
The DWP insists “procurement is now well under way” for the new service and “DWP do not envisage there will be cause for further delay”.
Atos is expected to be paid an extra £117m due to the extension while Capita is set to be paid an extra £54m.
Both firms refused to say if they are bidding to run the new service from 2024.
Mirror research shows Atos has been paid up to £150million a year to run disability benefit assessments on behalf of the DWP.
Capita was paid around £50million a year - except in 2020 when it took nearly £75million, despite many face-to-face assessments being axed due to Covid.
The firm declined to explain why its payments were higher in 2020.
A Capita spokesperson said: “We have been proud to partner with the DWP on PIP since 2013.
“We are consistently meeting an ambitious satisfaction target, with 96% of PIP applicants satisfied or very satisfied with our service over the last twelve months. Less than one per cent of assessments result in a complaint.
“This extension is testament to our strong track record for delivery and longstanding relationship with our client.”
An IAS (Atos) spokesperson said: “We do not comment on commercial matters, however, in our continuous drive for high standards we are pleased to be consistently meeting assessment quality targets.”
Separately, fit-for-work tests for ESA or Universal Credit are carried out by a firm ultimately owned by US outsourcing giant Maximus.
A DWP spokesperson said: “We have robust processes in place for spending public money and departments always seek to achieve value for money for the taxpayer. As with all our contracts, performance is kept under constant review.”
