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UC - Permission To Contact GP & UC50 Info

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4 years 4 months ago #240328 by Kevin L
Hi everyone,

I received a call from the UC Service Centre asking for my permission to contact my GP. They were quite vague as to why they wanted this permission and I was unsure about giving them permission so I refused to give them permission. As the call progressed the agent also said I was due to complete a UC50 as I had moved from ESA just over a year ago and they needed to reassess my case. They asked me a few more times for my permission in a subtle way and the agent made me hold which made me think that they were speaking to a supervisor for help.

I have moved to a new GP recently so they don't actually have the correct GP details anyway. I said when I received the UC50 I would be putting the new GP's details on there. However I thought that only gave permission for either Maximus or the decision maker to contact my GP - not the UC Service centre.

1) Does anyone know why the UC Service Centre want this permission - was I right or wrong to refuse it?
2) If I was correct to refuse permission should I put a very clear note in my UC journal stating this?
3) When I complete the UC50 with my new GP's details who and when can they contact my GP?
4) I was awarded PIP in December 2018 - is it worth mentioning the PIP award to help my case? (ie will it perhaps mean I don't need to be assessed?)
5) My conditions have not changed since my last ESA assessment in Aug 2017 (in fact they're a little worse) and like most people the stress of completing these forms, waiting for an assessment, the assessment itself is huge. If my consultant mentions the toll the assessments take on my health in a supporting letter will it carry any influence or not?

Many thanks,

Kev

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4 years 4 months ago #240336 by Gordon
Replied by Gordon on topic UC - Permission To Contact GP & UC50 Info
Kev

1. Your JC+ office has nobody with medical or disability experience so I think they are asking on behalf of the Assessment Provider. If I had to guess then I think that they are trying to avoid your having to have a face to face and maybe even a UC50 but if the form is now being issued then you may have passed the point where the DWP is able to make a Decision without referring you to Maximus.

2. I stress that the above is only a guess. If you were uncomfortable with giving permission and the DWP was unable to provide an adequate reason then I don't disagree with your decision.

3. It will be Maximus but do not assume that they will contact your GP, in the majority of claims they do not, even if the DWP has previously tried to contact them. Our recommendation is to include any letters from your GP with the UC50 but your GP may be unwilling to provide a letter at this stage of the process.

4. Yes but you must relate it to the UC activities, even where there is overlap between the two benefits the criteria is still different and you cannot rely on those assessing you to link the two.

5. If the process is stressing you then you should certainly mention it but again you need to relate the issue to the UC activities, have a look at our UC & ESA Claim guide and in particular the section on Substantial Risk.

Gordon

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems

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4 years 4 months ago #240344 by Kevin L
Replied by Kevin L on topic UC - Permission To Contact GP & UC50 Info
Many thanks Gordon.

I don't think that it was to avoid the UC50 because they were still asking me for permission even after telling me that I was due a UC50. Surely they would have said if I gave them permission it could avoid a UC50 and possible assessment. That would have been an incentive to give it.

4) When you say relate it to the UC activities do you mean when answering specific questions where there is overlap I should say I was awarded PIP and scored x points for a similar activity?

Cheers.

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4 years 4 months ago #240345 by Gordon
Replied by Gordon on topic UC - Permission To Contact GP & UC50 Info
Kev

I would turn it around slightly and say I meet UC Descriptor X because of a, b and c and I scored Y points for this PIP activity which has a similar requirement or for similar reasons.

Gordon

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems

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4 years 4 months ago #240347 by Kevin L
Replied by Kevin L on topic UC - Permission To Contact GP & UC50 Info
Thanks Gordon, much appreciated!

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4 years 4 months ago #240382 by Kevin L
Replied by Kevin L on topic UC - Permission To Contact GP & UC50 Info
Hi Gordon,

After reviewing my PIP points I remembered that there was a few descriptors where I scored 0 but I felt I should have scored points. However I didn't challenge it because I had enough points anyway to get the enhanced rate and didn't want to risk them possibly downgrading me.

Will this complicate things if I reference PIP?
Would I just be better off not referencing how many PIP points I got for specific tasks but make sure my answers align with my written PIP application?

My answers are already quite detailed as I have 10 different health conditions in total. Sometimes I wonder if it's better to send them shorter answers as I'm sure they must just look at an application with many extra pages and think better to just get them in for an assessment. What do you think?

BTW, I've made a grid in excel with UC/ESA descriptors cross-referenced to their PIP overlaps. If you want I can send it to you if you think people might find it useful, all the best.

Kev

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