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Roger calls for DWP investigation into payments for non-existent ATOS appointments

Posted by Roger Godsiff, MP for Birmingham, Hall Green, at 16:42, Mon 13 January 2014:

Roger has written to Esther McVey MP at the Department for Work and Pensions to call for an investigation into whether its sub-contractors, including ATOS, are charging the taxpayer for services that do not actually exist.

Roger was alerted to this situation by a constituent who wrote to him because she had received a letter from ATOS on behalf of DWP, asking that she attend an appointment in relation to her benefit claim. She also received a letter from Ingeus, a company which runs the Work Programme, saying that she had been a participant on the programme for two years. However, she had not claimed Employment and Support Allowance for a year and a half and had no current claim, and had never been on the Work Programme or claimed Jobseeker’s Allowance.

Roger wrote to DWP to ask them to investigate this case and the possibility that further taxpayer-funded payments are being made to companies to provide fictitious appointments and non-existent courses. He commented: “It is worrying, although regretfully not particularly surprising, that companies such as ATOS are billing the taxpayer for services which have not actually been provided.

“It’s bad enough to waste taxpayer money on incompetent or unfair ATOS assessments, but ridiculous to waste resources on assessments for claims which do not actually exist. Similarly, the Work Programme’s results have been poor even for jobseekers who have actually attended their courses. I do not see why the taxpayer should also be billed for people who have never been on the programme or received any assistance.

“Whether the product of deliberate fraud or just incompetence, DWP must now investigate this matter fully, and ensure that payments are not being made for non-existent services. I would also like a guarantee from the Government that any payments wrongly made to companies such as ATOS will be clawed back, as they are from individuals who have received benefits overpayments.”