ESA Support Group Confirmation Without Medical

After completing the ESA assessment form and returning to ATOS, my mum has just received a letter stating she has been place in the Support Group.It also confirmed is will receive extra money as she is in this group and thd 'Disability Income Guarantee'.

Mum has very complex conditions and we provided both letters from her consultancy and GP.
Does this mean she will still need to attend an ATOS medical.

She phoned the Job Centre Plus and they said quite abruptly she will be called, as every claimant must attend. The is contrary to what I understand from thr DWP ESA pathway guide and all literature I have read. I thought people where only placed in this group after assessment, due to the severity of disability and decisions were made on basis on evidence provided. Surely you are not assessed and deemed incapable to undertake work and are "not expected to look for work as a result" and then made to attend a capability for work assessment.

I understand reviews ard undertaken every 1-3yrs, as standard like DLA.

She like most is very worried about this, because of all the publicised horror stories.
Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

In addition to Gordon's advice, I would like to reassure you that claimants in the Support Group will not need to undertake 'Work Related Activities' either.

ESA can be reviewed at any time between 3 months and 3 years. If your mother would like to have some idea of when to expect reassessment, she can phone DWP and ask for the 'prognosis' which should be on the computer screen. If she would like to have a copy of all the paperwork associated with this claim, she can make a 'Subject Access Request' to DWP

SAR

Fantastic, thank you Gordon.

I cannot understand why they also seem to give wrong information/advice?!

Mum suffers terribly and this has been such a stressful build up and process.Mum has just told me they didn't even ask her name or number!

I'm so glad common sense has been shown, not like the thousands of people wrongly denied every day.

Thank you again for your reply

vanilla01 wrote:
I cannot understand why they also seem to give wrong information/advice?!

Unfortunately, many of the people answering the phones are poorly trained. Instead of admitting that they don't know something, they tend to come up with a 'best guess' answer which can be widely inaccurate!