ESA Form - what legislation was valid at the time

phidgity

There have been no changes to the ESA legislation, at least in regard to claiming, since January 2013, so the current guides reflect the law as it was when you were last assessed, there have been some changes to the guidance, but this accounts for several iterations of the guides and these are not online.

If you can explain what you are looking for I may be able to help.

Gordon

phidgity

A reminder to be cautious about the information you provide, you are seeking answers to questions that might not be asked and even if asked, this may be done by a person who may not be qualified to interpret your answers. You don't want to create further questions because you have volunteered information that was not requested.

As to ESA Mobility.

First remember it is two tests, the ability of the claimant to walk and secondly their ability to self-propel a manual wheelchair, both are considered for an award.

Claimants are not required to mobilise pain free but any significant discomfort or exhaustion that limits the distance that they can mobilise should be taken into account.

The mobilising should be done on level ground, the intention is that this be indoors, in the workplace but the Descriptors make no specific reference to this, so walking outside (on a flat surface) could also be taken into account.

In addition to distance the test specifically requires it to be done in a reasonable time. This is not just a reflection of the speed of walking but should also take into account any stops that the claimant might make when walking.

There is no definition of what a reasonable time is, but it should be possible to argue that someone walking very slowly would not meet the requirement. The DWP calculate this as about 40m per minute, which would mean a time of 1 minute and 15 seconds for the 50m.

So someone walking faster but having to stop could still meet the requirement.

Claimants must be able to repeat the distance within a reasonable time. Again this is not defined. A few minutes may be considered as acceptable, 5-10 may not and an hour or more certainly wouldn't.

The mobilising must be done reliably, so in addition to the above, the claimant must be able to do complete the activity whenever they are required to do so. So if the claimant could mobilise on one day, but as a result of doing so could not do so the next day, then this should also be considered.

Finally, if a claimant is accepted as being unable to complete an activity at the beginning of the day or at some time afterwards is considered to be unable to complete that activity for the whole day.

Gordon