Petition · past parliament
Demand tighter controls on personnel carrying out Work Capability Assessments
Rejected
14 signatures
What the petition asks
Former employees of Atos, the for-profit organisation that carries out Work Capability Assessments, are now making public the fact that many assessors have no medical qualifications, or where they are medically qualified, it may not be in the appropriate area of medicine for the claimant's needs.
Our Demands:
* All assessors to be medically qualified & registered with NMC, GMC, or RCS
* Qualified assessors MUST be qualified in the appropriate field of medicine for claimant's disability
* No more lay persons used as assessors
* No more lay persons accessing confidential medical notes
* Recording of assessments as per RIPA (Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000) Any recording device can be used: police-type twin recording device specified on Page 11 of Atos handbook is NOT mandatory.
* All assessors to be medically qualified & registered with NMC, GMC, or RCS
* Qualified assessors MUST be qualified in the appropriate field of medicine for claimant's disability
* No more lay persons used as assessors
* No more lay persons accessing confidential medical notes
* Recording of assessments as per RIPA (Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000) Any recording device can be used: police-type twin recording device specified on Page 11 of Atos handbook is NOT mandatory.
Why it was rejected
It was not clear what the petition asked the UK Government or Parliament to do.
Petitions need to call on the UK Government or Parliament to take a specific action.
We understand you're concerned about the qualifications of assessors carrying out Work Capability Assessments (WCA), but we're not sure exactly what you'd like the Government or Parliament to do. Atos hasn't held the government contract to carry out WCAs since 2015.
You could start a new petition explaining clearly what you would like the Government or Parliament to do. For example, that the Government require all healthcare professionals contracted to carry out WCAs be qualified in a medical field relevant to the claimant.
There's already a petition calling for independent doctors to carry out WCAs, which you might like to sign if it calls for something you'd like to happen. You're more likely to get action on this issue if you sign and share a single petition.
ESA claimants examined by Independent Doctor not Work Capability Assessment
We understand you're concerned about the qualifications of assessors carrying out Work Capability Assessments (WCA), but we're not sure exactly what you'd like the Government or Parliament to do. Atos hasn't held the government contract to carry out WCAs since 2015.
You could start a new petition explaining clearly what you would like the Government or Parliament to do. For example, that the Government require all healthcare professionals contracted to carry out WCAs be qualified in a medical field relevant to the claimant.
There's already a petition calling for independent doctors to carry out WCAs, which you might like to sign if it calls for something you'd like to happen. You're more likely to get action on this issue if you sign and share a single petition.
ESA claimants examined by Independent Doctor not Work Capability Assessment
Timeline
| 15 Jul 2019 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 31 Jul 2019 | Rejected by the Petitions Committee |
Key facts
Signatures
14
Status
Rejected
Rejected
31 Jul 2019
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.