Need help re: ESA appeal

Lee

What award did you have previously and how was it made? Was it Descriptor based or for some other reason such as Substantial Risk?

What evidence did you submit last time? How old was it? Could you argue that it is still relevant?

Have you seen any other doctors in the last year or two?

Gordon

Lee

Appeals are not always about the evidence although it certainly makes it easier.

Many claimants are parked by the DWP and do not have up to date medical information, so the GP may still be relevant if you can show that your conditions are ones that are not likely to change or even prone to deterioration.

You can balance off not having a lot of evidence by explaining your limitations in more detail.

Have you considered whether you have properly explained your problems in your claim form, is it possible that you have misunderstood the Descriptors, described your problems in terms that do not match the Descriptors or failed to make appropriate use of the reliability criteria or the need for your limitations on the majority of days to be considered?

I would go back to basics and go through your form, the report and the PIP Claim guide to see whether you can better explain your problems better.

Gordon

Lee

For the MR it will be the DWP but Decision Makers pace unreasonable reliance on the assessment report, a Tribunal will take a much more balanced approach.

Also, assessors and DMs tend to see things in black and white terms when often the claimant's problems are grey, explaining your problems in more depth can cut through that grey and make your problems more visible.

But you also need to consider what the ESA Descriptors say, so for Coping with change

14 (a) Cannot cope with any change to the extent that day to day life cannot be managed. 15 points
14 (b) Cannot cope with minor planned change (such as a pre-arranged change to the routine time scheduled for a lunch break); to the extent that overall day to day life is made significantly more difficult. 9 points
14 (c) Cannot cope with minor unplanned change (such as the timing of an appointment on the day it is due to occur), to the extent that overall, day to day life is made significantly more difficult. 6 points
14 (d) None of the above apply. 0 points

So think about the changes that you have to deal with on a daily basis. How do you avoid or at least minimise change? When faced with change how do you cope? What level of change are you unable to cope with? How does this manifest itself? How long are you affected?

You don't have to tell me but these are the sorts of things you need to think about and answer.

Our ESA Claim guides have more information.

Gordon