Call For Public To Give Opinions On Fitness-To-Work Assessments

People with experience of the government's fitness-to-work benefit assessments are being asked for their views on how to improve the system.

Northern Ireland's Department for Social Development has commissioned a review into the assessments for employment and support allowance, previously known as incapacity benefit.

It is the third review of its kind and is designed to find out whether things have improved since the recommendations in the last two reviews, both also by Professor Malcolm Harrington.

The fitness-to-work assessments are carried out by a private company and have attracted criticism.

In Northern Ireland, a third of claimants' appeals were successful and, having been rejected, they went on to be considered for the sickness benefit.

But social development minister Nelson McCausland said this was a reflection of the fact that information sometimes came in late.

One man, who has appealed against his rejection, told the BBC: "If they had contacted my GP, they would have been able to back up everything that I'd put on the form.

"It felt more like a company than a medical assessment by someone who knew what they were doing.

"It's a terrible thing to be dependent on somebody else for money to survive, but I've had to get used to this because of my illness. With more money being taken off my benefits, I don't know what I'm going to do."

Social Development Minister Nelson McCausland said it was important that people completed the questionnaire, because uptake had been low on previous occasions.

(NE)