ESA supersession waiting time

Clara wrote: My friend has been in the WRAG for some years but her condition has recently worsened. She submitted her last ESA50 in January 2014 and was hoping to be placed in the support group this time. If placed in the WRAG again, she was intending to appeal. Predictably, she has heard nothing, so has no decision to appeal against. Can she apply for a supersession of her 2013 decision, and if so, is it likely that her application will be dealt with more quickly than if she waits in the interminable reassessment queue?

In principle she can but there may be no advantage in her doing so.

As there has been no Decision on her January re-assessment and I assume no face to face assessment, she can continue to submit evidence and testimony in regard too her current condition and the deterioration that has occurred. She should send this information to ATOS and the DWP office dealing with her claim and if she has a face to face assessment, then she should take a copy to that and ask the assessor to read it before starting the interview.

If she wants to separate the two processes then she can request a supersession by the DWP but I think it likely that they will try and include it into the existing review process rather than treating it separately and she will also have to show, with medical evidence to support it, that the deterioration has occurred since she completed the ESA50, which may be difficult if she is called to a face to face in the interim.

Finally, a request for supersession will be running at least six months behind the current re-assessment process and is unlikely to be looked at until next year, based on the current delays in the ESA system, also pushing back any potential appeal should one be required. She would struggle to appeal the current re-assessment on the basis of the deterioration if it is not included in the information she has sent to ATOS.

I hope the above makes sense, but if not, please reply to this post when the forum re-opens at 8pm this evening.

Gordon