Help needed please

Hi I am asking for information on behalf of my father. He was claiming DLA then asked to apply for ESA. After a medical assessment he was found fit for work. He asked for a mandatory reconsideration which was turned down. I then found your website & with the help of your guides put together an appeal. He then received a letter saying that the original decision had been overturned and was now deemed not fit for work and awarded ESA in the WRAG group. My question is can he now apply for PIP or can we appeal still? Thank you for your time reading my post.

Hi Kirsty andWelcome to the forum, you might want to have a look at the following FAQ which explain where everything is

Welcome to Benefits and Work

Firstly, the ESA. Yes, you can still take this further if the new decision is not what you think it should be. The first thing to do is look at the Support Group descriptors and see which of them you believe your father meets.

Qualifying for the Support Group

You are now in the position where any further decision (by DWP or tribunal) could go either way - they could move your father into the Support Group, keep things as they are or find him 'fit for work' again. So you need to be as sure as possible that his WRAG award is safe before taking it further. The decision letter should tell you whether you must have another MR of this decision or whether you can now progress to appeal.

It would help to have a copy of the assessor's report (ESA85 as he had a face 2 face assessment) so that you can see how/why he was not awarded ESA in the first place. You will get this routinely as part of the evidence 'bundle' if you go to appeal but it can be helpful to request a copy from DWP now so that you can frame your submission. However, don't wait for this if it would take you over the deadline for further action!

As to the PIP, has your father received a letter from DLA 'inviting' him to apply? If so, he must do so within one month otherwise he risks his DLA claim being closed.

It helps us enormously when everything relating to one claim is kept in the same topic. It also helps is each topic deals with only one benefit (it helps us keep advice pertinent and saves our poor moderator brains from scrambling even more!). Would you mind keeping this topic for ESA and starting another if you have questions about the PIP process? You will find this topic easily in future if you bookmark/favourite it on your web browser now