Four out 10 benefit appeals are successful

Appeals against incapacity and disability benefit decisions are
successful in over 40 per cent of cases, according to a report from
the House of Commons public accounts committee, writes
Natasha Salari.

There are cases where poor decisions are made “following
apparently rushed or inadequate medical examinations”, the
report said.

Between March 2001 and September 2002 the number of appeals
lodged against incapacity and disability benefit decisions remained
relatively unchanged at over 35,000 a quarter.

The report recommends that doctors and decision-makers are given
regular feedback on decisions reached and on the results of appeals
so that they can improve their performance.

The standards used to assess the adequacy of medical reports could
also be raised or more demanding targets could be set, the report
added.


Sixteenth report: Progress in improving the medical assessment of
incapacity and disability benefits

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