DLA renewal and ESA decision

Hi Im new to posting and hope I have done this right as I get brain fog.
I am in receipt of ESA cb since losing my job through ill health and had to return an ESA50 and evidence in Feb 15 which I am yet to hear about (thank you for your help with this form). I contacted DWP to ask if I had to continue with fit notes and they seemed to be under the impression I had already had a WCA until I said I was still waiting to hear from them and ATOS, to which their reply was "oh yes carry on with fit notes." Do you know if Maximus took over Atos workload or will atos finish what they have started? I requested a recorded WCA so maybe this is what is holding it up? I have no contact number for Atos and the DWP were unhelpful.
Also I have had renewal form for DLA (due to end June 15) along with a letter advising about PIP change over. Should I inform DLA that my health has deteriorated to the point of unemployment and request a pip form as change of circs and if I do will I continue to receive DLA I get while they assess pip? I am not sure if they sent the renewal because I started to claim ESA and they want to assess them together? I am really worried about spending time completing DLA form for them to send me a PIP form to complete as well. Sorry if this is not clear I really struggle some days with cognitive problems and get confused easily which is why I lost my job. Thank you Joolz.

Joolz wrote: Hi Im new to posting and hope I have done this right as I get brain fog.
I am in receipt of ESA cb since losing my job through ill health and had to return an ESA50 and evidence in Feb 15 which I am yet to hear about (thank you for your help with this form). I contacted DWP to ask if I had to continue with fit notes and they seemed to be under the impression I had already had a WCA until I said I was still waiting to hear from them and ATOS, to which their reply was "oh yes carry on with fit notes." Do you know if Maximus took over Atos workload or will atos finish what they have started? I requested a recorded WCA so maybe this is what is holding it up? I have no contact number for Atos and the DWP were unhelpful.
Also I have had renewal form for DLA (due to end June 15) along with a letter advising about PIP change over. Should I inform DLA that my health has deteriorated to the point of unemployment and request a pip form as change of circs and if I do will I continue to receive DLA I get while they assess pip? I am not sure if they sent the renewal because I started to claim ESA and they want to assess them together? I am really worried about spending time completing DLA form for them to send me a PIP form to complete as well. Sorry if this is not clear I really struggle some days with cognitive problems and get confused easily which is why I lost my job. Thank you Joolz.

Hi J,

I don't know whether you missed it, but Gordon responded to your very similar query from 4 days ago : Here.

To reiterate, if you have received DLA renewal forms, then you should fill them in and return them in good time before your current fixed term DLA award expires in June 2015.

I would not assume that your DLA renewal has any connection whatsoever to your ESA Claim.

It would be perfectly normal for a claimant who has a fixed term DLA Award to receive the renewal forms 16-20 weeks before the end of the DLA Award.

That means that you could have received the renewal forms any time after February this year.

As Gordon says, if you have received DLA renewal forms then you do not live in an Active PIP Area.

See : When should I send my renewal form back?

DLA FAQ’s

An added point here, if you fail to send your DLA renewal forms back before the DLA expiry date, and in the mean time your postcode becomes an Active PIP Postcode Area, your DLA Claim will be closed, and you would be forced to make a totally fresh claim for PIP, rather than DLA.

As you may know, the qualifying criteria for PIP is different to DLA and it can be a lot more difficult to obtain a PIP Award, especially with the PIP Mobility Component under "Walking" limitations, where to obtain an Enhanced PIP Mobility Award you are assessed on whether you can manage to walk 20 metres rather than 50 metres with DLA.

You will also find guidance on DLA renewals first blue link under the heading :

"DLA Changes and Renewals"

Just over a third of the way down this page :

DLA Guides

You will not have to complete a PIP form as well if the DLA renewal is returned in good time !

Regarding your ESA, you should contact : The Centre for Health and Disability Assessments.(CHDA) (Maximus) who took over the ESA WCA Contract from ATOS on 02/03/15.

(left click on any blue words to open the link)

Please keep us updated.

bro58

Thank you so much for your replies. I apologise for posting the same question twice. I am new to posting and didnt think my first question got through and then didnt know how to look for a reply. I also dont know where my brain has gone to sometimes I think it remains in bed when I get up. Thanks again. Joolz.