No ESA50 at WCA

Seems things are a bit more complicated than I thought!

Apparently my friend is already on ESA, so it seems after he completed his ESA50 sometime in 2012, he was transferred from IS to ESA without a face-to-face. I understand this is quite rare and as far as I know he doesn't fit into any of the categories of claimant that are normally exempt from a FTF, so I wonder if they were just overwhelmed and decided to skip the FTF for a certain number of claimants.

He didn't actually receive a decision letter in that case as he moved house (around March 2013 I think) and some department kept sending letters to his old address. It was only when his ESA was stopped last September and he phoned the DWP to see what was going on that they told him it was stopped because he'd failed to attend a WCA and it turned out they'd sent the letters about it to his old address, some 18 months after he'd moved. In the meantime he'd been receiving letters about Work Focused Interviews, so they had his correct address but for some reason some department was still using his old address, maybe the DWP hadn't passed on the new address to ATOS and it was them who'd been writing to him. Once they realised their mistake, they obviously re-instated his ESA and arranged another WCA but although ATOS then wrote to him about it to his current address, it seems they failed to send out an ESA50.

As he was required to attend WFIs, I presume he must have been put in the WRAG group back in 2012 but either way, he must have scored at least 15 points on that assessment, so that can only strengthen his case that it was unreasonable to award him 0 points this time. I've advised him to send off a second SAR for the documents relating to his first assessment, so that he can see the report and which descriptors he was awarded points under.

Hi DL,

"Apparently my friend is already on ESA, so it seems after he completed his ESA50 sometime in 2012, he was transferred from IS to ESA without a face-to-face. I understand this is quite rare and as far as I know he doesn't fit into any of the categories of claimant that are normally exempt from a FTF, so I wonder if they were just overwhelmed and decided to skip the FTF for a certain number of claimants."

It is not that rare at all really !!

Many, many claimants were placed into The WRAG or The SG without the need for a face to face, and this is still happening.

This occurs where the Assessor deems that they have enough evidence within The ESA50, etc to make a paper based assessment and recommendations for entry to WRAG or SG in an ESA85A Medical Report.

Good luck with The SAR, please keep us updated.

bro58

My friend has received the response to his SAR but it seems rather incomplete. For the current assessment, it says "Registered Nurse" for the type of HCP. There's some inconsistencies between what he said at the assessment and what the HCP has written down but it doesn't disclose much he didn't already know from the decision letter and the recording of the assessment he already had.

For the previous assessment in 2012, which was when he was transferred from IS to ESA, there's just a note that says that it appears from his ESA50 that nothing has changed since he was last assessed for IS (in 2010 I think he said) and so he was awarded ESA but there's no other documentation showing what points he was awarded and for what modifiers, which group he was put into, reasons, etc. I'm sure the points must have been calculated to determine his eligibility / appropriate group and someone can't have just said "Nothing's changed, give him 15 points and let him have it".

So I've advised him to write back and explain that the documents he asked for don't appear to have been provided and that he still wants them.

He's also received the MR Notice. From what he tells me, it basically just says that they are satisfied with the decision and he hasn't scored 15 points but doesn't say how many points, if any, he has been awarded. Nor does it address the specific and detailed points he made in respect of the descriptors he felt were applicable, or the inconsistencies and errors he identified with the assessment, including the complete absence of a ESA50. So it seems that either Decision Makers are no longer being told that the notice should contain the information outlined in the guide, or this particular DM just decided not to bother. I assume there's no legal requirement for the notice to contain any specific information?

Even though he stated that he would be submitting more evidence when he received it from his GP and in response to his SAR, they didn't wait for this, nor did they phone him too ask if he wanted to add anything, as the guide suggests they might.

He says he's received the recent ESA85 & ESA65 (plus an ESA85A referring him for a WCA) & LT54 (which is same as ESA65 with the additional line "The assessment cannot take account of the requirements of a person's normal occupation") & ESA56 with scoresheet (he scored 0 points this time).

For the first assessment in 2012 he's got the LT54 & ESA85A, which don't give any indication of points scored, just 'at least 15', so he doesn't know what descriptors he scored points under.

His SAR asked for the recent ESA50 or 51 or 53 (we know there wasn't a ESA50) & ESA113. For 2012 he asked for ESA113, statement of reasons "and all other relevant documents".

David Jones wrote: He says he's received the recent ESA85 & ESA65 (plus an ESA85A referring him for a WCA) & LT54 (which is same as ESA65 with the additional line "The assessment cannot take account of the requirements of a person's normal occupation") & ESA56 with scoresheet (he scored 0 points this time).

For the first assessment in 2012 he's got the LT54 & ESA85A, which don't give any indication of points scored, just 'at least 15', so he doesn't know what descriptors he scored points under.

His SAR asked for the recent ESA50 or 51 or 53 (we know there wasn't a ESA50) & ESA113. For 2012 he asked for ESA113, statement of reasons "and all other relevant documents".

Hi DL,

Having seen several ESA85A Med Reports, they seldom give details of why/how the claimant has been awarded LCW (WRAG or LCWRA (SG)

They simply have statements such as the claimant meets the threshold for LCW, or has scored at least 15 points under The Schedule 2 Descriptors for LCW, etc, etc.

i.e. They are generally pretty vague.

bro58