Outsourcing giant Serco been handed a £350million contract by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to support the assessment of disability benefit claimants.
The five-year contract to deliver functional assessment services (FAS) in the south-west of England is scheduled to start in September 2024, subject to workload volumes.
Serco told investors on Tuesday it will be responsible for ‘delivering functional health assessments for the DWP to determine disability benefits and support’.
The deal is a five-year contract is scheduled to start in September 2024 and is subject to workload volumes and will be in the region of £350million
Serco said in a statement it will ‘draw on’ similar work it does, such as its contract to deliver the National Disability Enquiry Service in Australia, and supporting eligibility determinations for citizens in the US under the country’s Affordable Care Act
Mark Irwin, who replaced long-standing chief executive Rupert Soames earlier this year, added: ‘We will focus on ensuring all claimants are treated with care and respect and our employees are fully supported and trained to provide high quality and consistent health assessments.
‘To deliver this new area of work for Serco, we will draw on our extensive experience supporting and delivering important health programmes around the world and build on our value-based relationship with the DWP to ensure we become a true Impact Partner to the department’.
In August, Serco saw profits boosted by £804million worth of immigration and justice spending by governments around the world in the first half of the year.
A 90.5 per cent jump in UK and European immigration and justice sales to around £621million helped drive the group’s underlying operating profit 9 per cent higher year-on-year to £148million in the six months to 30 June.
The boom in UK and European demand of this kind offset a 9.2 per cent per cent dip in Asia Pacific saw Serco’s total revenues climb 11 per cent to nearly £2.5billion
Serco is contracted by the Home Office to provide accommodation for asylum seekers, and runs immigrant detention and removal centres such as Gatwick’s Brook House and Tinsley House.
It provides similar services across Europe and Asia Pacific.
Serco shares are up 0.21 per cent to 145.40p in morning trading on Tuesday.
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