Labour accused the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) of "rewarding failure" by Atos and Capita, which appear set to be paid more than £700 million for their ve-year contracts(due to end in December 2018). £578 has already been paid.(Press Association gures)
This compares with an original estimate of £512 million for the contracts to carry out assessments for personal independence payments (PIP).