Confused about the reassessment news...

Hi, I'm on ESA Support Group, no DLA or PIP ( just could not cope with it - ESA was hell in itself - and rely on help from mum and a friend).
I am supposed to be getting my next ESA50 in December 2016, with assessment in the following new year. I dread it (my anxiety and depression are already bad)...
The news about 'reassessment has confused me. Does it mean they are going to assess people early?
I know now - from reading here - that you can be called in for reass't at any time. But I also read another post about a 'Right Payment Programme'. Is that a new initiative (if so, all over the country or do we know where) and does it mean I am likely to be called before I thought I was 'due'?
I'm a bag of nerves right now....wondering if a 'Right Payment' letter will pop through my door? I don't even know if they are random, or if you're likely to be called in if you've been on this benefit longterm (I have). If it's a home visit or what... Any advice. This government will be the end of me!
Thanks

Hi Shell,

There was such a backlog of ESA cases that DWP stopped calling people in for reassessments. This backlog has now reduced so routine reassessments will start again. I would not expect this to have any direct effect on your reassessment date. However, in reality DWP can reassess at any stage once 3 months has passed since the ESA decision was made and nothing has changed this.

Mrs Hurtyback, Thanks so much for replying.

*I think* I I had a face to face medical in mid 2012 and was put on ESA (initially WRAG, appealed and compared to some was fortunate to be placed in the SG after a mandatory recon for 18 months). I then got the dreaded letter (in line with the 18 mths). I sent off a new ESA50 with as much info as poss and, as I have not seen a specialist for some time, a letter from my GP.My mum gets very stressed - generally and falls to bits when dealing with any one 'important' - and had had a bereavement so I declined to put her down. I thought I'd be appealing again.

Imagine my shock when I received a letter saying I would remain in the SG! I rang and was told it would be for three years, so I would get an ESA50 in Dec 2016 and prob a face-to-face soon after. I am still sick and have not improved but it was a relief to think I would be left alone to focus on my health without dreading an envelope for a while...

Would you know if the backlog would apply to my situation? When you say 'reassessed' I don't know if submitting my ESA50 2 years ago counted as reassessment even tho I din't have a medical that tie. I am stressing to death about it. I fear I'll be called early, with have no f-2-f last time, and being only 41. I'm on eds for depression and anxiety as well as y other condition and I can feel the impact this news is having on my illness.

I wondered what these right payment things are too...and who they're affecting...

Thanks so much for talking the time - I appreciate it.

Shell wrote: Mrs Hurtyback, Thanks so much for replying.

*I think* I I had a face to face medical in mid 2012 and was put on ESA (initially WRAG, appealed and compared to some was fortunate to be placed in the SG after a mandatory recon for 18 months). I then got the dreaded letter (in line with the 18 mths). I sent off a new ESA50 with as much info as poss and, as I have not seen a specialist for some time, a letter from my GP.My mum gets very stressed - generally and falls to bits when dealing with any one 'important' - and had had a bereavement so I declined to put her down. I thought I'd be appealing again.

Imagine my shock when I received a letter saying I would remain in the SG! I rang and was told it would be for three years, so I would get an ESA50 in Dec 2016 and prob a face-to-face soon after. I am still sick and have not improved but it was a relief to think I would be left alone to focus on my health without dreading an envelope for a while...

Would you know if the backlog would apply to my situation? When you say 'reassessed' I don't know if submitting my ESA50 2 years ago counted as reassessment even tho I din't have a medical that tie. I am stressing to death about it. I fear I'll be called early, with have no f-2-f last time, and being only 41. I'm on eds for depression and anxiety as well as y other condition and I can feel the impact this news is having on my illness.

I wondered what these right payment things are too...and who they're affecting...

Thanks so much for talking the time - I appreciate it.

Hi S,

From what you have written, it looks like you were originally placed into The WRAG in 2012, then placed into The SG after a DWP reconsideration of the original WRAG decision.

It then seems that you were reassessed around 18 months later by way of a paper based assessment and remained in The SG.

The backlog that you speak of meant that ESA reassessments for current ESA recipients have been getting deferred since Jan 2014.

As confirmed in : This Topic.

However, we found out that ESA reassessments have now restarted, as seen in this : News Article

As I advised in : This Topic we have no idea of "when" current ESA recipients will be reassessed.

Of course, you could ring ESA :

THE ESA PHONE NUMBER DWP : 0345 608 8545 Press Option 3 for ESA. (Open 8AM-6PM. Mon-Fri.)

As others have.

If your recommended date for reassessment is December 2016, I would prepare as best you can for when the time comes.

I am afraid that the whole ethos of ESA is that of regular reassessments, even when in The SG.

Normally, the longest period between reassessments is 3 years :

See : How often will I be reviewed

From our : ESA FAQ’s

It is not a definite that you will need to have a face to face at your next reassessment. It is possible to receive a paper based assessment if you can provide enough evidence for them to come to a decision without the need for a face to face.

I think that you are getting a little mixed up, : The Right Payment Programme is pertinent to DLA, not ESA.

bro58

Hi bro58,

Thanks for replying...

I know it's me, not you, but I am struggling to understand. I find it hard to take stuff in and it's worse because of anxiety. Apologies for this, and also if I express things badly.

I got an ESA50 around the end of November 2013 (in line with the 18 month prognosis when I had an ESA50/ WCA mid 2012, when I was first placed in WRAG and then SG after a mandatory reconsideration). The ESA50 I got in Nov/ Dec 2013 had to get back to them in early January 2014. I filled it in as fully as I could and my GP wrote a letter or support which followed the ESA50 a few days later. It did arrive. I could not include other medical evidence as I saw specialists at the time of diagnosis only.

It was not too long after this that I got a letter indicating benefit amount (breakdown for SG). There was no other info included and I hadn't received a WCA appointment.
I was in a panic and called the DWP when I received this letter to tell them I'd not been in for a WCA and was told I wouldn't be called for one this time. No reason given.

I asked when I'd next get an ESA50 and was told I'd receive it November/ December 2016 with a WCA if required early 2017.

I'm confused about whether this would be classed as a 'deferment date' (because they based my award on an ESA50 only and not a new WCA). Early 2017 would be 4.5 years since my 2012 WCA... I recall asking if I would be called before then and the person said it was possible but unlikely unless my circumstances changed and I called them. I think Mrs Hurtyback implied this, if I understood properly.

As I did receive and sent back an ESA50 Nov/ Dec 2013, I thought that would qualify as a 'reassessment' or, are you saying because I was not seen face to face it would be a deferment rather than a reassessment? I'm worried I was told three years on the basis of backlog, and can expect to hear from them sooner now reassessments are starting again.

I know what you've said about ringing them but I prefer not to... Is there any way you can tell me from what I've written whether it's likely the ESA50 without a WCA was normal and sometimes happens, and I can probably expect to get the next one when I was told I would, or would I likely have been put on 'deferment' without having realised?
I thought the fact I got an ESA50 (even without a WCA) meant I'd been 'reassessed' (albeit without a medical)...

Apologies, I'm just so mixed up and it's worse because my last ESA50 was received by them early January 2014 (around the delays/ deferment time).

Thanks (and sorry!)

Sorry for the novel, bro58
I think what I am trying to ask is this:

Because I received an ESA50 in Nov/ Dec 2013 and completed and returned it as required in early Jan 2014, followed shortly after by a letter from my GP, this was 'reassessment' (albeit without a face to face WCA)?

Thanks for clearing the other issue up (the Right Payment Prog thing). I sometimes find it v hard to focus. I get things wrong and then am blinded by panic..! I don't why I thought it was for ESA.

Can I ask if the ESA50 has changed since Nov/Dec 2013 when I last filled one in? If so, could you please link me to the new form (and if it has, new descriptors)? My depression and anxiety have become a bigger issue since I was last reassessed (though that was not my 'main' condition) and I wonder where this would 'fit' with regard to form-filling...?

Thanks (and sorry about before!)