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9 years 5 months ago - 9 years 5 months ago #125299 by june cunningham
support group was created by june cunningham
B) how is it possible that my son can be awarded a severe disability premium by the dwp but is not
deemed to be suitable for the support group? is it possible to make a claim for him to be now placed into this group and how do we start?
Last edit: 9 years 5 months ago by .

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9 years 5 months ago #125301 by Gordon
Replied by Gordon on topic support group
JC

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I am afraid the Severe Disability Premium is awarded because of the claimants circumstances rather than the degree to which their conditions affect them, specifically that they are receiving DLA Care at the Medium or have Higher Rate or a PIP Daily Living award and they live alone and no one receives Carers Allowance.

To be placed in the ESA Support Group your son must meet one or more of the SG criteria. See

www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/help-for-claimants/esa1

If your son's condition has deteriorated since they were last assessed then he can request a re-assessment of his claim for this reason (also known as a Supersession). This will be a full re-assessment (new ESA50 and likely a face to face assessment) and he needs to be aware that the DWP can make any Decision as a result (Fit for Work, WRAG or SG).

Also, due to the delays in the ESA system, a new Decision could easily take a year to be made, if not longer.

If he wants to make the request then he should write to the DWP office that deals with his ESA claim.

Gordon

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
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9 years 5 months ago - 9 years 5 months ago #125303 by june cunningham
Replied by june cunningham on topic support group
thanks,
my son should never have been placed in this group. he has severe uncontrolled epilepsy fitting many times a day as well as a severe bowel problem where he has to have constant access to a toilet for up to 5 hours a day from early morning. If he did not do so he would be incontinent and soil himself. he is a young person of 34 and his problems also result in severe depression.
He also threatens self harm ,especially when he was told that he was not going to be placed on support group.
I am not sure if this was actually classed as an appeall as my husband just wrote a letter asking for the support group and we have not got any replies . although they said a letter had been sent in May refusing the request for support group. My husband is authorised to deal with all my sons letters etc and neither of us have received any notification which means that we are not in time to appeal.
We have sent all correspondence to them as recorded delivery but they still maintain they have not received certain letters.
How should this work? It is 6 months since he had any contact from Prospects who have agreed to him having telephone interviews
Last edit: 9 years 5 months ago by Gordon.

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9 years 5 months ago #125310 by Gordon
Replied by Gordon on topic support group
JC

If you wish to challenge the Decision to place him in the WRAG then the first thing that has to be requested is a Mandatory Reconsideration, from you post this may have already been carried out following your husband's letter to the DWP.

If it has then you can now make an appeal to the Tribunal Service, however, you will need to explain why the appeal is being made outside of the normal one month, the fact that you were not informed of the process by the DWP may be sufficient. You will also have to supply a copy of the Mandatory Reconsideration Notice that the DWP will have sent if an MR was performed.

If you did not receive a copy of the MR Notice from when the DWP wrote to you then it is likely that an MR was not performed and you will need to start from the beginning. Our ESA MR & Appeal guide explains the process in more detail.

www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/help-for-claimants/esa1

As I mentioned earlier, your son will only be placed in the SG if you can show that he meets the associated criteria. Some quick comments from your post.

- he cannot be placed in the SG due to epilepsy (at least not directly, see Regulation 35)
- I am afraid the Incontinence Descriptor requires the claimant to soil themselves at least once a week, this is a simplified view of the requirement it is more complicated than this.
- If he is threatening self harm then he may qualify under Regulations 35.

I would recommend having a detailed look at the ESA Claim guides (also available on the above link). It is important when looking at the criteria that you take note of each element that makes up the Descriptor, for example the Incontinence Descriptor has six elements all of which must be met to apply.

If we can help more then please reply to this post.

Gordon

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
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9 years 5 months ago - 9 years 5 months ago #125329 by june cunningham
Replied by june cunningham on topic support group
We have just been informed by a member of Prospects (who has agreed to temporararily delay my sons telephone interviews because of his mental state ) that she had thrice written to the DWP office
advising them that she recommends he be placed in the support group(she sent each letter recorded delivery) and they have not responded
Last edit: 9 years 5 months ago by Gordon.

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9 years 5 months ago - 9 years 5 months ago #125331 by Gordon
Replied by Gordon on topic support group
JC

I am afraid that this is of little evidential value, the advisor will not be medically trained and certainly will not have been trained as an Approved Disability Assessor, they may not even be aware of the SG criteria.

Gordon

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
Last edit: 9 years 5 months ago by Gordon.

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