A REPORT has been specially commissioned by MP Will Quince to explore concerns over the benefits assessment centre being inaccessible.
A petition, which more than 1,200 people have signed, called for the politician and the Minister of State for Disabled People, Sarah Newton, to hold a meeting in Colchester with Ali Wilkin and other campaigners.
The Colchester MP said: “I commissioned my own report into the accessibility of the test centre which I’ve sent to the minister requesting a meeting to discuss the findings.
“I await a response but it’s likely this meeting will be between the minister and I, and probably departmental officials, in Westminster.”
Ms Wilkin, 48, is still pushing for the meeting to be held in Colchester when the petition can also be delivered.
What fuelled the petition is her being unable to attend an assessment in Wellington Street due to accessibility issues.
She was then found fit to work in her absence and her benefits were stopped.
She said: “I’m relieved to report I’ve now had my work capability assessment during an at-home appointment which has rightfully been acknowledged as the only fair and commensurate response given that both Colchester and Chelmsford’s Employment Support Allowance assessment centres are inaccessible to me as a disabled, chronically sick wheelchair user.
"I am lucky, which might seem like a strange word to use when I’ve had to leap through a considerable number of hoops."
READ MORE: CAMPAIGNER URGES MPS TO BACK DISABLED ACCESS PLEA
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