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| Fit-to-work tests: Atos quits contract | Fit-to-work tests: Atos quits contract |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Atos is to quit its contract to assess whether benefits claimants are fit to work, the government has announced. | Atos is to quit its contract to assess whether benefits claimants are fit to work, the government has announced. |
| It follows government criticism over "significant quality failures". | |
| Disabilities Minister Mike Penning said a new company would be appointed in early 2015, and Atos would not receive "a single penny of compensation". | |
| Atos, whose contract had been due to end in August 2015, had previously said it would carry on with the tests until a new company could be put in place. | |
| Claimants applying for employment and support allowance must take a work-capability assessment to see how their disability or illness affects their ability to work. | |
| Disability campaigners have described the work tests as "ridiculously harsh and extremely unfair". | |
| Last summer, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) identified "significant quality failures" in the written reports Atos produced after tests and put a plan for improvement in place. | |
| But in February, the DWP said standards had declined unacceptably. | |
| Mr Penning said the government was looking for a provider to replace Atos "with the view to increasing the number of assessments and reducing waiting times". | |
| He said: "I am pleased to confirm that Atos will not receive a single penny of compensation from the taxpayer for the early termination of their contract. | |
| "Quite the contrary, Atos has made a substantial financial settlement to the department." |