Recent updates/changes to the members guide to ESA claims

I notice the amazing B&W team have updated the guide again & am just wondering if you might know what the changes actually are (since the previous version)?
Reading it all anew will take me weeks & leave me totally incapacitated & carer will need to read it too which will take her away from important caring duties, so would rather not if we don’t have to.

I don't know if I've already posted this as I may have hit the Reply button in error, but the reason for the updated guide is the addition of 3 pages (pages 29-31) which is headed "Meeting the severe conditions criteria".

There is a News item linked to this updated guide www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/news/meeting-t...-conditions-criteria

Oh Wow thanks so much for that reply Robbie thats a huge help... so just conforming i understood you correctly - that was the change then, nothing else new?

BIS wrote:

Hi Cemily I'm sorry, I can't tell you. On another post, you've talked about additional pages, so I assume that you have recently completed your review form. We leave it up to members whether they want to use the guides when completing their forms. As moderators, we don't take part in compiling the guides, so I can't tell you specifically which parts may have changed. BIS

Hi BIS thanks for your reply, sorry my initial post wasnt very clear... I haven't done a review recently, I'm getting ready for one. We've always followed the guides they are incredibly helpful, wouldnt dream of doing an assessment without them. Used them every reassessment since 2012! But it's now getting that i cant read them and as my submission is already done - typed up in a word doc, the same answers every 2 yrs since 2012. So unless something has changed in the guide we can just copy previous answers this time - with minor edits.

So thats why I was hoping I could find out what the changes were, but Robbie has answered me on that which is such good news.

You mods are amazing so patient kind knowledgeable you are much appreciated all of you

Hi again

MY submission has been essentially the same since 2012, & last actually assessed in 2016.

(we were expecting a reassessment in 2018,20,22 & 24 but it wasnt done) The guides were read in preparation for each one (my capacity is tiny so we have to start looking at it about 6mnths before it's due hence me looking in advance this time).
Carer is helping me again but it's a new carer this time.

It's been noticed that back in 2014/16 when most of my submission was written, the focus for those of us with energy limiting/fluctuating conditions, was whether we could do an activity "reliably, repeatedly, safely & in a reasonable time frime".

And so my answers (copied into a word document & plaanning to use again this time) have a heavy focus on my not being able to do any of it reliably.....

But its been noticed that in the current & previous couple of editions of the guide it still says "Warning – repeatedly, reliably, and safely!"
It doesn't actually mention reliability again but seems to describe only issues with doing activities safely, repeatedly, acceptable standard & reasonable time frame - as it says on the form.

Am I to assume that at some point the DWP have dropped the need for activities to be able to be done reliably as well as repeatedly safely etc?

Or is it still part of the law?

Perhaps it changed many years ago but we didnt notice!