23 November 2010

Professor Malcolm Harrington publishes his first independent review of the Work Capability Assessment, finding that the system is “impersonal” but not “broken” (later evidence would emerge that he had not been informed by DWP of the coroner’s report for Stephen Carré.)

What: Harrington, appointed in June 2010 to lead the first independent review of the WCA (he would also carry out the next two), concludes in his report that “there is a lot that could be done at each stage of the process to make the WCA fairer and more effective”, and finds “strong evidence that the system can be impersonal and mechanistic”, but does not find the system “broken or beyond repair”. He makes 25 recommendations.

Why significant: Professor Harrington had been commissioned by the government to carry out the review, so his conclusions carry weight. Further evidence would later emerge that he had not been informed by DWP of the coroner’s report for Stephen Carré.