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Fit-to-work firms Atos and Capita have earned more than £500m of taxpayer cash running a hated Tory scheme to assess people for disability benefits.

Analysis of Government data by the Mirror shows the two firms were paid £211m for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments in the first 11 months of 2016.

That was up from £198m in 2015, £91m in 2014 and £7m in 2013, the year PIP launched.

PIP is designed to help disabled people live independently and is replacing the old Disability Living Allowance (DLA).

Yet despite the assessments' £507m price tag, thousands of decisions based on them are being overturned on appeal.

Figures to September 2016 show 61% of 90,000 claimants who appealed against a PIP decision at a tribunal won their case.

Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said: "This adds to the suspicion that these companies are just driven by a profit motive, and the incentive is to get the assessments done, but not necessarily to get the assessments right.

(Image: PA)

"They are the ugly face of business."

Labour shadow welfare minister Alex Cunningham said: "It is clear that the assessment process continues to fail.

"Instead of holding their contractors to account for incorrect assessments, which cause huge distress to the most vulnerable, the Government are paying them even more taxpayers' money."

Monthly government data to the end of November 2016, totalled by the Mirror, shows £382m of payments to Atos under the PIP assessments scheme with another £125m to Capita.

The money covered three categories - face-to-face interviews, paper assessments and fees for GPs’ reports.

The system has been accused of leaving thousands of sick and disabled people high and dry.

Of 526,000 DLA claimants reassessed for PIP up to October 2016, 21% were rejected altogether and 23% ended up worse off, including people with Parkinson's and AIDS.

Atos defended its work, saying the final decision on whether to give someone benefits was down to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

(Image: Daily Mirror / Adam Gerrard)

An Atos Healthcare spokesman said: "The Atos team undertake PIP assessments on behalf of the DWP and do not take a decision on a person's eligibility for PIP - that decision can only be taken by the DWP.

"Each assessment is carried out under the guidelines delivered by the DWP."

However, thousands of cases are also being overturned by the DWP itself.

Before going to an independent tribunal, PIP claimants must first ask for a 'mandatory reconsideration' by the DWP.

Figures to October 2016 show people have done that 428,000 times with 17% winning a change to their award - including 32,000 who were transferring from DLA.

(Image: REX/Shutterstock)

MPs criticised the rise of outsourced disability assessments in a report by the powerful Public Accounts Committee in March.

They warned the system could present "a real risk to value for money" and questioned why the cost of one type of assessment had risen from £115 to £190.

A DWP spokesman declined to say whether the cost of each PIP assessment had risen too.

The DWP spokesman said: "Payments to our providers reflect the amount of work they do for us.

"We introduced PIP to replace the outdated DLA system, and as we invite more people to claim PIP, claims have been steadily increasing quarter on quarter since summer 2015.”

A Capita spokesman said: “Capita carries out PIP assessments according to Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) guidelines and professional codes of conduct."