descriptor wording for support group

pusscatsmum wrote:

I have managed to get the following , it is abridged to hide to personal things.
Retired due to accident at work from 1999 and placed on IB. married in 2005, later had to give up running the farm to look after his wife as he is principal carer. Wife’s condition deteriorates over time and DLA enhanced to high rate in both care and mobility for life.
Appealing against decision to be placed in WRAG so as to be placed into Support Group.
Pt confined to a chair in which she sleeps, as cannot get upstairs any more, she is unable to propel herself in a wheelchair and has to be pushed by someone. I am writing in support of her appeal to be placed in support group as she is clearly unable to work in any capacity at all.

Hello

As Gordon says the mods can't help you and I don't have any real expertise, but I can make one point.

Obviously you have taken out the personal details (very wise), but the abbreviated version is a little confusing.

You talk about "retired due to an accident at work" - which sounds as though you are talking about one persons, and then about having to give up running the farm to look after a wife whose condition is deteriorating.

The question in my mind is - for whom are you claiming the benefit?

If it is for the wife - then describing her mobility restrictions accurately should give you the 15 points. She cannot walk, or push herself in a wheelchair for 20m. She may not be able to tackle even the 2 stairs described in the ESA listing.

There may be other descriptors which she meets - lifting, reaching etc.

BUT if it is her needs that are being described, then the circumstances of her carer are irrelevant to the ESA claim.

Indeed her own history is generally irrelevant. What you have to do is to go through the list of descriptors and see which ones apply to her.

The other thing you need is the justification for the original decision to place her in the WRAG group. For that you need (and please someone correct me if I'm wrong) the Statement of Reasons from the DWP. (Look up the guide to appealing on this site)

Get that and you will know what you have to fight. It may be that you need additional medical evidence.

You may also need additional help from someone who can deal with the personal details.