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Assessment Decision Query
- OldAndConfused
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6 years 11 months ago #188283 by OldAndConfused
Assessment Decision Query was created by OldAndConfused
Hi all
I have been in the ESA Support Group, contribution based, for some years now. I completed the latest questionnaire in January and had a medical assessment in March and was told to expect a 4-6 week wait for a decision.
Today I received a letter from my local JobCentrePlusOffice telling me a meeting had been set up with my work coach for next week.
The letter made absolutely no mention of any decision and if I didn't know there was a difference between the Support Group and WRAG I would have no reason to think that anything had actually changed.
Am I to assume that this is the official notice of the decision and that I have apparently been moved into WRAG, or should I be expecting something from the DWP too?
Many thanks in advance - there may be more questions but for now I am trying to wrap my head around this one...
I have been in the ESA Support Group, contribution based, for some years now. I completed the latest questionnaire in January and had a medical assessment in March and was told to expect a 4-6 week wait for a decision.
Today I received a letter from my local JobCentrePlusOffice telling me a meeting had been set up with my work coach for next week.
The letter made absolutely no mention of any decision and if I didn't know there was a difference between the Support Group and WRAG I would have no reason to think that anything had actually changed.
Am I to assume that this is the official notice of the decision and that I have apparently been moved into WRAG, or should I be expecting something from the DWP too?
Many thanks in advance - there may be more questions but for now I am trying to wrap my head around this one...
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- Gordon
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6 years 11 months ago #188287 by Gordon
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
Replied by Gordon on topic Assessment Decision Query
OldAndConfused
I'm afraid it is likely that you have been moved to the WRAG.
You should receive a Decision letter in the next couple of days.
If you have been moved and you wish to challenge the Decision then the first stage to challenging a Decision is for you to request a Mandatory Reconsideration, this needs to be done in writing to the DWP, within one month of the Decision, to the office that dealt with your claim, have a look at our ESA MR & Appeal guide for details of the process, the ESA area also has template letters that you can use to make the request with.
www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/help-for-claimants/esa1
You should contact the DWP for a copy of the assessment report if you have not already done so, I would phone them but again follow up the request in writing. Once you have the assessment report you will have a better understanding of how the DWP Decision Maker has come to their conclusions and will then be able to argue against them.
Your primary task is to show that you meet the criteria, there are many reasons you may have failed, you need to address each of these but don't get bogged down in criticising the assessment report unless you can clearly show that it is incorrect, it is a lot easier to argue the facts of the situation;
"the assessor recorded that I walked 50m, I did but they have failed to document that I had to stop every 10m for a rest due to breathlessness"
than their opinions
"based on my observations of the claimant walking I believe that they can reliably walk more than 200m.
When you have a better idea of the issues with your claim, come back to the forum and we will do our best to help.
Gordon
I'm afraid it is likely that you have been moved to the WRAG.
You should receive a Decision letter in the next couple of days.
If you have been moved and you wish to challenge the Decision then the first stage to challenging a Decision is for you to request a Mandatory Reconsideration, this needs to be done in writing to the DWP, within one month of the Decision, to the office that dealt with your claim, have a look at our ESA MR & Appeal guide for details of the process, the ESA area also has template letters that you can use to make the request with.
www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/help-for-claimants/esa1
You should contact the DWP for a copy of the assessment report if you have not already done so, I would phone them but again follow up the request in writing. Once you have the assessment report you will have a better understanding of how the DWP Decision Maker has come to their conclusions and will then be able to argue against them.
Your primary task is to show that you meet the criteria, there are many reasons you may have failed, you need to address each of these but don't get bogged down in criticising the assessment report unless you can clearly show that it is incorrect, it is a lot easier to argue the facts of the situation;
"the assessor recorded that I walked 50m, I did but they have failed to document that I had to stop every 10m for a rest due to breathlessness"
than their opinions
"based on my observations of the claimant walking I believe that they can reliably walk more than 200m.
When you have a better idea of the issues with your claim, come back to the forum and we will do our best to help.
Gordon
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
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