WCA & Atos: FOI and the PwC Audit [Work Test Whistleblower]

Reblogged from Work Test Whistleblower:

The DWP has belatedly replied to my Freedom Of Information requests about the PwC audit of the DWP's performance. The replies were written in government-speak so I'll paraphrase the responses:

• The audit is still underway.
•  The audit is focusing on the WCA rather than other DWP benefit assessments.
• PwC will analyse the design of the WCA programme and will try to gauge how well it has worked in practice.
• The auditors will try to assess how well Atos has performed, in terms of how well Atos designed and carried out its own business processes in this regard.
• External auditors might be employed in the future to ensure that the WCA is of an acceptable quality.

So we are a little closer to getting a picture of what's going on behind the scenes. Saying "the audit is ongoing" allows the DWP, to some extent, to delay announcing anything until a time of their choosing, though PwC will at some point conclude their primary assessment and then the clock will really start ticking.