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IMPORTANT CHANGES TO ESA

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11 years 2 months ago - 11 years 1 month ago #98023 by Gordon
IMPORTANT CHANGES TO ESA was created by Gordon
I am sure that many of you are aware that a number of changes to the ESA Regulations (that define how the benefit is operated), and the ESA Descriptors (that define eligibilty for the benefit), come into effect from today, Monday 28/01/13.

Now that Steve has had a chance to go through the legislation in detail we are updating our advice to members in regard these changes.

- Anybody who has already received a Decision on their claim will continue to receive their benefit based on what are now the previous Regulations and Descriptors. Any Appeal or Reconsideration that you make should also be based on the these old Regulations and Descriptors.

- As from today, anyone receiving a new ESA50 either because of a new claim, a re-assessment, or because they are being transferred from another benefit to ESA, will be assessed using the new Regulations and Descriptors.

- Anybody who has already received an ESA50, but is still waiting a Decision, will be assessed using the old Descriptors, however, and this is a change from my tentative advice of last week, they will be assessed using the new Regulations.

- All Decision made on or after 28/07/13 will be made using the new Regulatiosns and Descriptors, irrelevant of when the ESA50 was issued.

The amended Regulations, which will affect all claimants awaiting a Decision, make the following changes.

- The definition of Hospital In-Patient is changed.
- The definition of cancer treatment is changed.
- Changes to the use of aids and appliances
- Regulation 29 (Exceptional Circumstances for the WRAG), is amended to allow the reasonable adjustments of the working environment, and the taking of prescribed medecines, to be considered by Decision Makers.
- It is now only possible to score points for the Physical activities (questions 1-10) if the claimant can show that they have an underlying physical condition, and for the Mental Health ones (questions 11-17), if the can show they have a mental health condition.

Steve is hoping to make updated Claim guides available today or possibly tomorrow by the end of the week (there has been an additional delay due to the pulication of a new ESA50), an updated Understanding ESA guide should be available by the end of the week early next week.

Gordon

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
Last edit: 11 years 1 month ago by Gordon.
The following user(s) said Thank You: Brightskies2009, Bearer, Pipp, mactav, MariW
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11 years 1 month ago #98024 by Steve Donnison
Replied by Steve Donnison on topic IMPORTANT CHANGES TO ESA
Hi All,

We've now published a news article on the ESA changes which covers what is happening and has a link to the new ESA50.

www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/news/2203-esa-...al-test-change-chaos

This afternoon we'll be publishing guides to the changed WCA as it applies to people who are completing - or have already completed - the old form but not had a decision before 28 January.

We'll be updating our understanding ESA guides and publishing a guide to completing the new ESA50 as soon as possible, which may not be until next week.

Steve

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
The following user(s) said Thank You: Brightskies2009, hundi , slugsta, sarahjane , Pipp
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  • bro58
11 years 1 month ago - 11 years 1 month ago #98025 by bro58
Replied by bro58 on topic IMPORTANT CHANGES TO ESA

Gordon wrote: I am sure that many of you are aware that a number of changes to the ESA Regulations (that define how the benefit is operated), and the ESA Descriptors (that define eligibilty for the benefit), come into effect from today, Monday 28/01/13.

Now that Steve has had a chance to go through the legislation in detail we are updating our advice to members in regard these changes.

- Anybody who has already received a Decision on their claim will continue to receive their benefit based on what are now the previous Regulations and Descriptors. Any Appeal or Reconsideration that you make should also be based on the these old Regulations and Descriptors.

- As from today, anyone receiving a new ESA50 either because of a new claim, a re-assessment, or because they are being transferred from another benefit to ESA, will be assessed using the new Regulations and Descriptors.

- Anybody who has already received an ESA50, but is still waiting a Decision, will be assessed using the old Descriptors, however, and this is a change from my tentative advice of last week, they will be assessed using the new Regulations.

- All Decision made on or after 28/07/13 will be made using the new Regulatiosns and Descriptors, irrelevant of when the ESA50 was issued.

The amended Regulations, which will affect all claimants awaiting a Decision, make the following changes.

- The definition of Hospital In-Patient is changed.
- The definition of cancer treatment is changed.
- Regulation 29 (Exceptional Circumstances for the WRAG), is amended to allow the reasonable adjustments of the working environment, and the taking of prescribed medecines, to be considered by Decision Makers.
- It is now only possible to score points for the Physical activities (questions 1-10) if the claimant can show that they have an underlying physical condition, and for the Mental Health ones (questions 11-17), if the can show they have a mental health condition.

Steve is hoping to make updated Claim guides available today or possibly tomorrow, an updated Understanding ESA guide should be avilable by the end of the week.

It is still not clear if the current ESA50 is to be updated because of these changes, so could anybody receiving one, let us know the the reference number which should be found on the botton left of the first page. The current reference number is "ESA50 03/11".

Gordon


Hi G,

Having just checked the download link for the PDF ESA50 on our FAQ :

Using The PDF Version Of The ESA50 Questionnaire

It takes you to the new PDF ESA50, version : ESA50_012013_006_001 which is verified at the bottom right of the final page of the questionnaire.

bro58
Last edit: 11 years 1 month ago by bro58.
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  • bro58
11 years 1 month ago #98099 by bro58
Replied by bro58 on topic IMPORTANT CHANGES TO ESA
TTT.
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  • bro58
11 years 1 month ago #98123 by bro58
Replied by bro58 on topic IMPORTANT CHANGES TO ESA
To The Top.
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  • bro58
11 years 1 month ago #98138 by bro58
Replied by bro58 on topic IMPORTANT CHANGES TO ESA
Back up again.
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