ESA medical

Forgive me if this is is in the wrong section-I`m new to the forum. I`ve been on ESA (support group) for over two years (after being on Incapacity benefit for over 6yrs) and after filing in the re-assessment form, been called for a medical at the end of this month (letter only received today).

Firstly, does anyone know why they recall some of us for a medical review?

Secondly, I phoned the Medical Support Service to ask for a medical centre I was sent to before, one that is around 20 miles further than the one they`ve allocated. Today I received a letter telling me I had to attend the centre they had chosen-can they do this as both centres are within the 90 minute travelling period?

Lastly, I`m confused am I entitled to have my medical recorded-I wasn`t aware that this was possible.

Hi and Welcome to the forum, you might want to have a look at the following FAQ which explains where everything is

Welcome to Benefits and Work

The ESA assessor will decide whether they believe they have enough information on your ESA50 form to make a recommendation to DWP. If s/he thinks they need more information you will have to attend a face2face appointment. It is very common to need this assessment.

Yes, the assessment provider can send an appointment for any venue that the claimant can reach, by public transport, in no more than 90 minutes.

You are allowed to change an assessment appointment (date, time or venue) once without penalty. However, if you change to a different venue, you will then have to attend the next appointment no matter what, or risk your file being returned to DWP and your claim closed.

Claimants are allowed to request that the assessment is recorded. This must be done in advance as not all assessors will agree to being recorded. Lack of recording equipment is not classed as 'good cause' for refusing to go ahead with the assessment.

It is perfectly legal to carry out a 'covert' (secret) recording. However, if you do this, you must be very careful. If the assessor finds out, the appointment will be stopped and DWP told that you refused to co-operate. It would be at the discretion of a Tribunal panel to decide whether such a recording could be used for an appeal.

There is a sample letter, requesting recording of the assessment, in our ESA guide.

ESA claims and appeals

The guide also explains what to expect at a face2face appointment.

You might want to bookmark/favourite this on your web browser now so that you can find it easily in future. This will allow you to return with further questions/comments without having to start a new topic each time. It helps us enormously when everything relating to the same claim is kept in one place - and I hope you will find it useful too

Thank-you so much. I will contact again on Monday to ask why they have not given me my requested venue. Can I ask one further question. Does requesting an audible recording limit the assessment centres one can be offered?