ESA Contribution based turned down

Hello

I claimed ESA back in year 2011/2012 Ending April 2012 due to it being 365 days limit reached . I then got a job that did not earn enough to pay NI contributions .

Last July I was diagnosed with secondary Breast Cancer and have been signed off work since then .I am going through Chemo Rads and continuing adjuvant therapies for life .

My Statuary sick pay runs out in March and I put in a claim for cont based ESA and today have been turned down .

The benefits advisor tells me that I need two years full NI contributions since my last ESA claim in order to claim again . so from 30th April 2012 and as I did not have a job that paid enough I cannot get ESA again . IS this correct ?

I contacted the national insurance helpline to see if I had paid anything at all and In year 2012/2013 I was credited with some NI cont due to some magic calculation of earning between £464 and £634 per month but only towards my state pension which I probably won't get to see anyway . Apparently you can pay some voluntary contributions but they don't count towards benefits only pension .

I would normally have been placed in the support group however I am told I need to actually qualify first . It seems unfair to me that this criteria exists at all as I have paid many many years full NI contributions for most of my life .

Can I appeal on any grounds does anyone know or is this a stead fast government law

Thank you for your reply Gordon

My recent ESA claim went in Jan 2014

In 2011/2012 I was being paid ESA it stopped 30/4/2012 . and although they paid my NI contributions I am told these will not count towards a new claim ?

I am confused because the letter they sent me today states they used years 5/4/2007 and 5 april 2008 to asses my claim at which time I was in full time employment paying full rate NI .. I don't know why they used these years

Hello Gordon Yep know what you mean about the years ..

Thank you I would not qualify for IR ESA .

I dont understand why they have written 2007/2008 on my letter ..

Also if I am making a new claim in 2014 and and they look at the two years previous it seems ridiculous as I was on ESA 2011/2012 and could not work so had no chance of making up any shortfall whatever the reasons . 12/13 I was off sick from July 2013 with Breast cancer surgery chemo and was paid SSP which gave me again no opportunity to earn to pay NI contributions and did not qualify for NI to be paid ..

It does not seem a fair balance, where do I go for a trained advisor ?