PIP Appeal Hearing & ESA reassessment both in Feb

More good news, this time on my ESA reassessment.

I posted the ESA50 form completed in very full detail thanks to your guides about my mental and physical health issues with copy medical reports appended, on 15 February for a deadline of 19 February.

Since then I've been worrying about having to have a face-to-face assessment and awaiting the white envelope. However I'm pleased to write that on Saturday, 26 March a brown envelope arrived from the DWP, stating I had been placed directly in the Support Group again for ESA but this time WITHOUT the need for an assessment.

Once again, I'd like to state how grateful I am for the information provided here. It took me two weeks of two hours every day to fill in the ESA50 (which I did online and saved each time) but the effort has truly produced results.

Now all I'd like to know is when the DWP will start paying my PIP - 5 weeks yesterday since the Tribunal found in my favour. If I haven't heard after 6 weeks, I think I'll write to them with a copy of the Decision as I think has been advised elsewhere on this forum.

That's great news Ivy! Thanks for letting us know and for your kind words about B+W

On 7 April I wrote to the DWP enclosing a copy of the First Tier Tribunal's Decision, i.e. my successful Appeal Hearing on 23 February 2016, and asking for their written confirmation and a schedule of payments.

Today I received a letter, also dated 7 April, from the DWP which will have crossed with mine, just when I thought I could start to relax.

Bad news: no payment. More than six weeks after the Hearing, they have requested the Tribunal's Statement of Reasons. They state they normally have one month from receipt of the Statement of Reasons to decide whether they wish to apply for permission to appeal. (by the way, they cite an incorrect date of Hearing - 22 September 2015)

"If we apply for permission to appeal and it is not granted, we'll consider if we can start paying you benefit."

"If we're given permission to appeal to an Upper Tribunal it is likely to be several months before the appeal is heard. Payment won't be made during this time."

and - this makes my blood boil:

"There is no right of appeal against the decision not to pay benefit, but if it causes you hardship, please get in touch with us straight away."

Has anyone else experienced this? Can someone point me towards advice?

At present, I plan to write to the Court of Tribunal enclosing copy correspondence and requesting the Statement of Reasons for myself, so at least I'll know what the DWP will see.

It's now 4 months since I was successful at the Appeal Hearing for PIP and I still haven't had a penny.

The DWP and HMCTS haven't answered any of my letters, so I went to the local Floating Support/Connections drop-in session at the library.

The advisor found out for me that yes, the DWP have formally requested the Statement of Reasons and yes, HMCTS have received the request but... there is a huge backlog which has amassed due to staff shortages at senior level.

HMCTS told the advisor that to date, 3 reminders have been issued to the relevant District Judge, two in May and one in June, to prepare the Statement of Reasons in my case, but without any progress whatsoever.

Needless to say, my mental health is seriously deteriorating, along with that of many other desperate people (Interview with Cardiff doctor on 'You and Yours', Radio 4 at approx 12:30 yesterday, 22 June 2016)