Mandatory Reconsideration

I have received a letter about my M R notice and it says they have not changed their decision.
They based their judgement on a letter from a psychiatrist which stated I had a Recurrent Depressive Disorder with Severe Episodes, Also a report from a First Step Practitioner that i saw for 8 weeks for behaviour activation and cognitive restructure therapy and a letter from my daughter in law who described my day to day difficulties and the help that she gives me.

The M R letter stated that according to the report from First Step my condition is not as severe as indicated in my daughter in laws letter to the M R, saying the PHQ score of 9 indicates low mood and the GAD score of 7 indicates mild anxiety.
My actual PHQ-9 scores were between 14 and 22 over 8 weeks, indicating Moderate to Severe Depression and my GAD-7 scores were 15 to 19 over the same period indicating Severe Anxiety.
The scores of 9 and 7 which were used in my M R were the numbers 9 and 7 used at the top of the table as in PHQ-9 and GAD-7 with the relevant scores in the table below for every week i attended.

The M R also states that in my F2F medical I said I was able to make a cup of tea and also a sandwich so I do not qualify for the Support Group.
I feel that because I had not received an ESA50 to fill in before my medical I was at a disadvantage during the interview.

The prognosis from the Registered Medical Practitioner was " that work was unlikely for the next 2 years and available evidence suggests improvement is unlikely in the longer term."

It also states in the M R that if I want more information on the decision to contact them by phone or letter.

Do you think I should do this or get more supporting evidence from my GP or fill in an ESA50 and go straight to an Appeal.

Camper wrote: I have received a letter about my M R notice and it says they have not changed their decision.
They based their judgement on a letter from a psychiatrist which stated I had a Recurrent Depressive Disorder with Severe Episodes, Also a report from a First Step Practitioner that i saw for 8 weeks for behaviour activation and cognitive restructure therapy and a letter from my daughter in law who described my day to day difficulties and the help that she gives me.

The M R letter stated that according to the report from First Step my condition is not as severe as indicated in my daughter in laws letter to the M R, saying the PHQ score of 9 indicates low mood and the GAD score of 7 indicates mild anxiety.
My actual PHQ-9 scores were between 14 and 22 over 8 weeks, indicating Moderate to Severe Depression and my GAD-7 scores were 15 to 19 over the same period indicating Severe Anxiety.
The scores of 9 and 7 which were used in my M R were the numbers 9 and 7 used at the top of the table as in PHQ-9 and GAD-7 with the relevant scores in the table below for every week i attended.

The M R also states that in my F2F medical I said I was able to make a cup of tea and also a sandwich so I do not qualify for the Support Group.
I feel that because I had not received an ESA50 to fill in before my medical I was at a disadvantage during the interview.

The prognosis from the Registered Medical Practitioner was " that work was unlikely for the next 2 years and available evidence suggests improvement is unlikely in the longer term."

It also states in the M R that if I want more information on the decision to contact them by phone or letter.

Do you think I should do this or get more supporting evidence from my GP or fill in an ESA50 and go straight to an Appeal.

Hi C,

If you have now received your MR Notice, your next step would be to appeal directly to The Tribunal Service (TS) using form SSCS 1, and copy of your MR Notice.

This needs to be done within a month of the date of your MR Notice letter, if you wish to carry on and appeal.

How old is the evidence that they have referred to ?

Was it current at the time of your "medical" and the subsequent WRAG decision ?

If not, had your medical condition/s changed or deteriorated since the date of the evidence referred to ?

Again, if so, can you provide evidence to show this ?

If there has been a change or deterioration in your medical conditions since the dates of the evidence referred to, this is where you can argue that if you had been given the opportunity to fill in an ESA50, they would have been more aware of your limitations at the time of The WRAG decision.

Whether you now want to fill in an ESA50 and present it as evidence is up to you.

If any of the statement in The ESA85 Medical Report are errant, you can draw attention to them whilst countering with any evidence that you have to the contrary.

The information written regarding the prognosis, etc, is pretty standard, and from what you have written, if you don't appeal, or you do appeal and you are unsuccessful, you would probably be reassessed circa 2 years from the date of The WRAG decision.

Remember, any evidence that you provide must be tied in to the time of The WRAG decision.

The TS will not consider any change or deterioration in your medical conditions since that time.

If you are to appeal, you should do so in good time before the one month deadline expires.

You can provide as much evidence that you have to hand initially, with added comments that you are in the process of obtaining further evidence and will forward it to The TS as soon as you have it.

You should be able to send any additional evidence to The TS right up until 10-14 days before the hearing date.

The important issue is to show how and why you fulfil at least one of : The Functional SG (LCWRA)Schedule 3 Descriptors

Or if none of those under :

The Exceptional Circumstances Rule, ESA Reg 35 for entry to The SG (LCWRA)

Even if you feel that you qualify under at least one of The Functional SG Descriptor, you could cite ESA Reg 35 as a back up.

You would however have to show how and why there would be a "Substantial Risk" to your own health or that of another if you continued to be compelled to take part in any of the various forms of Work Related Activity (WRA) available in your local area.

The above are the only ways that you can gain access to The SG !!

Have a read through : This Topic regarding ESA Reg 35.

Once your appeal has been accepted by The TS, and you inform the JC Plus Adviser, you should not be referred to a Work Programme Provider. (WPP)

I am now going to refer to you back to the guidance from the links that I have already provided, as they should guide you through the appeals process.

bro58

bro58 wrote:

Camper wrote: I have received a letter about my M R notice and it says they have not changed their decision.
They based their judgement on a letter from a psychiatrist which stated I had a Recurrent Depressive Disorder with Severe Episodes, Also a report from a First Step Practitioner that i saw for 8 weeks for behaviour activation and cognitive restructure therapy and a letter from my daughter in law who described my day to day difficulties and the help that she gives me.

The M R letter stated that according to the report from First Step my condition is not as severe as indicated in my daughter in laws letter to the M R, saying the PHQ score of 9 indicates low mood and the GAD score of 7 indicates mild anxiety.
My actual PHQ-9 scores were between 14 and 22 over 8 weeks, indicating Moderate to Severe Depression and my GAD-7 scores were 15 to 19 over the same period indicating Severe Anxiety.
The scores of 9 and 7 which were used in my M R were the numbers 9 and 7 used at the top of the table as in PHQ-9 and GAD-7 with the relevant scores in the table below for every week i attended.

The M R also states that in my F2F medical I said I was able to make a cup of tea and also a sandwich so I do not qualify for the Support Group.
I feel that because I had not received an ESA50 to fill in before my medical I was at a disadvantage during the interview.

The prognosis from the Registered Medical Practitioner was " that work was unlikely for the next 2 years and available evidence suggests improvement is unlikely in the longer term."

It also states in the M R that if I want more information on the decision to contact them by phone or letter.

Do you think I should do this or get more supporting evidence from my GP or fill in an ESA50 and go straight to an Appeal.

Hi C,

If you have now received your MR Notice, your next step would be to appeal directly to The Tribunal Service (TS) using form SSCS 1, and copy of your MR Notice.

This needs to be done within a month of the date of your MR Notice letter, if you wish to carry on and appeal.

How old is the evidence that they have referred to ?

Was it current at the time of your "medical" and the subsequent WRAG decision ?

If not, had your medical condition/s changed or deteriorated since the date of the evidence referred to ?

Again, if so, can you provide evidence to show this ?

If there has been a change or deterioration in your medical conditions since the dates of the evidence referred to, this is where you can argue that if you had been given the opportunity to fill in an ESA50, they would have been more aware of your limitations at the time of The WRAG decision.

Whether you now want to fill in an ESA50 and present it as evidence is up to you.

If any of the statement in The ESA85 Medical Report are errant, you can draw attention to them whilst countering with any evidence that you have to the contrary.

The information written regarding the prognosis, etc, is pretty standard, and from what you have written, if you don't appeal, or you do appeal and you are unsuccessful, you would probably be reassessed circa 2 years from the date of The WRAG decision.

Remember, any evidence that you provide must be tied in to the time of The WRAG decision.

The TS will not consider any change or deterioration in your medical conditions since that time.

If you are to appeal, you should do so in good time before the one month deadline expires.

You can provide as much evidence that you have to hand initially, with added comments that you are in the process of obtaining further evidence and will forward it to The TS as soon as you have it.

You should be able to send any additional evidence to The TS right up until 10-14 days before the hearing date.

The important issue is to show how and why you fulfil at least one of : The Functional SG (LCWRA)Schedule 3 Descriptors

Or if none of those under :

The Exceptional Circumstances Rule, ESA Reg 35 for entry to The SG (LCWRA)

Even if you feel that you qualify under at least one of The Functional SG Descriptor, you could cite ESA Reg 35 as a back up.

You would however have to show how and why there would be a "Substantial Risk" to your own health or that of another if you continued to be compelled to take part in any of the various forms of Work Related Activity (WRA) available in your local area.

The above are the only ways that you can gain access to The SG !!

Have a read through : This Topic regarding ESA Reg 35.

Once your appeal has been accepted by The TS, and you inform the JC Plus Adviser, you should not be referred to a Work Programme Provider. (WPP)

I am now going to refer to you back to the guidance from the links that I have already provided, as they should guide you through the appeals process.

bro58

Hi C,

A couple of add-ons :

How to write an appeal submission. DR UK

&

MOJ Video of a "Mock" ESA Appeals Process and Tribunal

Please keep us updated and you can still pose any queries as and when they crop up.

bro58

Hi Bro

I attended the work focused interview at the Jobcentre and told the personal Advisor that i intended to appeal against the decision to place me in the WRA Group, he seemed very sympathetic and said that I would not need to come for any more interviews for at least 3 months, which is a great relief. he also advised me to go to the local Law Centre to help me with my appeal. which I did and one of their advisors helped me fill in an SSCS1 Appeal form, which I sent off. I made an appointment to see the Benefits Advisor the following week.

In the mean time I have received a letter from the Tribunal service saying they have received my appeal.

I went to the Law Centre to see the benefits advisor along with a relative for support.

The advisor looked at the ESA85 and my Mandatory Reconsideration letter, she also looked at the letters from the Psychiatrist and the First Step Practioner which dated from 2011, I have not had any follow up appointments with First Step or the Psychiatrist since then and still take the same medication that she prescribed. My medical condition is the same as it was then.

My GP who had known me for a long time has left the Practice and I rarely go to see my new GP.

The benefits advisor said she did not think i stood much chance of being put into the support group because of the way I looked which I thought was a very strange thing to say. She also said I was lucky to be put into the WRA Group.

I asked if it would be any help getting my GP to write a report for the tribunal, she said it would be a waste of time that they weren't taken into consideration.

She said that I could lose my ESA if I went to the tribunal. I explained that I had not filled in the ESA50 form prior to my medical and did not agree that the report was a true description of my mental health problems.

I came away with the impression that she was not interested in helping me with my appeal and do not have a lot of confidence in her.

I intend to carry on with my appeal.

Camper wrote: Hi Bro

I attended the work focused interview at the Jobcentre and told the personal Advisor that i intended to appeal against the decision to place me in the WRA Group, he seemed very sympathetic and said that I would not need to come for any more interviews for at least 3 months, which is a great relief. he also advised me to go to the local Law Centre to help me with my appeal. which I did and one of their advisors helped me fill in an SSCS1 Appeal form, which I sent off. I made an appointment to see the Benefits Advisor the following week.

In the mean time I have received a letter from the Tribunal service saying they have received my appeal.

I went to the Law Centre to see the benefits advisor along with a relative for support.

The advisor looked at the ESA85 and my Mandatory Reconsideration letter, she also looked at the letters from the Psychiatrist and the First Step Practioner which dated from 2011, I have not had any follow up appointments with First Step or the Psychiatrist since then and still take the same medication that she prescribed. My medical condition is the same as it was then.

My GP who had known me for a long time has left the Practice and I rarely go to see my new GP.

The benefits advisor said she did not think i stood much chance of being put into the support group because of the way I looked which I thought was a very strange thing to say. She also said I was lucky to be put into the WRA Group.

I asked if it would be any help getting my GP to write a report for the tribunal, she said it would be a waste of time that they weren't taken into consideration.

She said that I could lose my ESA if I went to the tribunal. I explained that I had not filled in the ESA50 form prior to my medical and did not agree that the report was a true description of my mental health problems.

I came away with the impression that she was not interested in helping me with my appeal and do not have a lot of confidence in her.

I intend to carry on with my appeal.

Hi C,

"The benefits advisor said she did not think i stood much chance of being put into the support group because of the way I looked"

"She also said I was lucky to be put into the WRA Group."

These are pretty poor comments for a Welfare Rights Advisor to make !!

"I asked if it would be any help getting my GP to write a report for the tribunal, she said it would be a waste of time that they weren't taken into consideration."

A G.P. report should always help, especially if it ties in the limitations that you suffer as a result of your medical conditions/disabilities to the appropriate SG Activity/s/Descriptor/s.

"She said that I could lose my ESA if I went to the tribunal."

If the Tribunal Panel were contemplating taking your WRAG Award away, they would first have to issue you with a verbal warning, therfore giving you the chance to withdraw your appeal there and then.

As reiterated under 61A "Warning" at page 131 of The Benchbook just over half way down : This Page.

This is the most current Benchbook in the public domain, but we are not aware of any changes regarding "The Warning".

Please keep us updated.

bro58

I Have received all the information I requested from the DWP and it states that I scored 24 points on the following descriptors :
Initiating actions 6 points
Coping with change 6 points
Going out 6 points
Coping with social situations 6 points
I have my appeal date set for the 3rd July 15, I spoke to my benefits advisor today advising her of the appeal date. She asked if I still wanted to appeal the decision to put me into the WRAG and told me again that i could possibly be given less points and lose my ESA. She also said that i did not qualify for for any of the descriptors for the Support Group. I commented that i thought the object of the appeal was to try to put forward further information supporting my move to the support group.
She has given me an appointment 10 working days before my appeal is due to be heard. I am panicking now as it seems to be very close to the date to supply any additional information.