esa

sanmarjio wrote: hi can ayone tell me if it's correct,that I have been put in wrag group from income support,got a few illness including,bowel incontinence..at least once a week thank you

To be placed in the SG based on the Incontinence Descriptor you need to meet each of the following elements (my emphasis)

8. Absence or loss of control¹
whilst conscious²
leading to extensive evacuation of the bowel and/or bladder³,
other than enuresis (bed-wetting)⁴,
despite the wearing or use of any aids or adaptations which are normally, or could reasonably be, worn or used⁵.
At least once a week experiences⁶

(i) loss of control leading to extensive evacuation of the bowel and/or voiding of the bladder;
or
(ii) substantial leakage of the contents of a collecting device;

sufficient to require cleaning and a change in clothing⁷.

As you can see there are 7 elements to this Descriptor, all of which must be satisfied for an SG award.

Did you score any points for this Descriptor, if you did it would show that it is accepted that you have problems in this area and it is a matter of degree or frequency.

If you did not then it will be much tougher to show you meet the requirement as you will have to argue each point in your favour.

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 PIP MR & Appeal guide for details of the process and 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, it will be an ESA85 if you had an assessment and an ESA85A if you did not. 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