The inquiry report, issued on 14 February, spoke out against outsource companies such as Atos, Capita and Maximus who were selected by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) to assess disability benefits claims. According to the report, none of these contractors have ever hit their quality performance target, despite a “low bar” being set by the DWP.

It also suggested that ministers consider taking the process back in-house when contracts come up for renewal in 2019 and 2020.

‘Failure’ of assessment system leads to ‘lack of trust’

In the summary of the report chairman Frank Field said: “ESA, and PIP [benefits] provide vital financial support to disabled people. Claimants of PIP and ESA should be able to rely on assessments for those benefits being efficient, fair and consistent.”

But he added: “Failings in the processes - from application, to assessment, to decision-making and to challenge mechanisms - have contributed to a lack of trust in both benefits. This risks undermining their entire operation.”

The report went on to say that some claimants are potentially being denied payments, even though assessors know claims are genuine. It said: “At worst, there is an unsubstantiated belief among some claimants and their advisers that assessors are encouraged to misrepresent assessments deliberately in a way that leads to claimants being denied benefits.

“This reflects poorly on contractor assessors and on the Department. The Department must urgently address these concerns.”

To rectify these issues, it was suggested that audio recordings of assessments should be offered by default, to reassure claimants that an objective record of their appointment exists should there be a dispute. It also added that, “providing a copy of the assessors’ report by default with claimants’ decision letters would also introduce essential transparency into decision-making.”

‘How did you catch Down Syndrome?’

The ESA, and especially the PIP benefit schemes, have been hugely unpopular since their introduction in 2008 and 2013 respectively. A succession of contractors have been brought in to undertake assessments, although today’s report makes clear that something in the process is still not working properly.

Last week, evidence was finally published about the bad treatment some claimants had experienced at the hands of assessors.

This was after MPs were “impressed and moved” by inquiry evidence they received, resulting in the decision to show a collection of “just a few of the thousands of stories claimants shared with them”.

In this evidence, claimants argued that they were asked demeaning and uninformed questions by assessors, such as “how did you catch Down Syndrome?” and “why you have not yet killed yourself?” (to a woman who was feeling suicidal).

The inquiry received some 4,000 submissions in total, the most ever reported. Rob Holland, public affairs manager at the learning disability charity Mencap, said: “For assessors to be asking ‘when did you catch down syndrome’ this should be warning enough that our benefits system is failing the people it is designed to support.

“Assessors lack specific knowledge about how a disability affects someone’s life, meaning people are not getting the vital support they need and deserve. It is no surprise that over 60 per cent of appeals to benefit decisions are being successfully overturned when challenged.”

The report highlighted that there have been 290,000 rejected claims for PIP and ESA Since 2013 that have since been granted on appeal. That’s a total of 6 per cent of all those assessed.

Mr Holland added: “These failings come at a huge cost to the taxpayer and even greater cost to the lives of disabled people who have to cope with the stress and anxiety of navigating a benefits system that repeatedly makes wrong decisions and assumptions about their lives."

Many people with mental health issues ‘too unwell’ to fight appeal process

For years mental health campaigners have been criticising the approach of assessors when dealing with people that have mental disabilities. Those with learning difficulties have struggled to get their voices heard too.

This has caused a high number of people with mental health and learning disabilities to lose out on important benefit payments due to contractors not understanding the intricacies of their conditions, although there is also plenty of evidence to suggest that assessors don’t totally understand physical disabilities either.

Responding to the report, Ayaz Manji, policy and campaigns officer at Mind, said: “Support from the benefits system can help people with mental health problems to live independently and take control over their own lives. However, this report highlights how badly the benefits assessment process is failing many people with mental health problems. More than half of people who appeal their benefit decision see it overturned, but for too many people, going through that process just isn’t possible because they are too unwell to face it.

“The inquiry also revealed shocking stories of assessors who lacked even the most basic understanding of mental health. We need to see greater expertise and knowledge in mental health among assessors.

“The Government now owes it to the hundreds of people with mental health problems who shared their stories to this inquiry, and the thousands more going through these assessments, to take real and urgent action.”

Mr Holland was one of the people that gave written and oral evidence of the experience of people with a learning disability to the inquiry. He supports key recommendations such as the involvement of companions during assessments, audio recordings and the use of accessible Easy Read formats during correspondence.

He said: “The Government must now restore public trust and follow through on key recommendations such as audio recordings of assessments, making sure information is available in easy read formats and ensuring companions are listened to and not ignored during the assessment process.”