Being assessed for ESA

Hi. I am new here, so first posting. Briefly, I have just received letter informing of migration from IB to Esa. I suffer severe ulcerative colitis and scored 15 points in your Esa test. If when assessed I am placed in 'support' group does that mean my benefit will change?

There are provisions in place that mean that you will not be worse off. People who are migrated get at least as much as they were getting before.

liam mark wrote:

Hi. I am new here, so first posting. Briefly, I have just received letter informing of migration from IB to Esa. I suffer severe ulcerative colitis and scored 15 points in your Esa test. If when assessed I am placed in 'support' group does that mean my benefit will change?

Hi Liam,

Firstly welcome to B&W.

If you have received the initial letter, it means you are at the start of the migration process from Incapacity Benefit to ESA. What usually happens next is that you would receive a phone call explaining the process followed by receipt of an Assessment Questionaire (ESA50) to complete and send in.

The guides in the members only area can help assist you in the completion of the questionnaire, so do feel free to make use of them.

You say you have used the B&W ESA assessment tool which is fine, however, as stated on the assessment tool page:

''But please be aware that a decision maker using a report from an Atos health professional may not reach the same conclusion that you do about your eligibility for employment and support allowance.''

Hence it is no guarantee that you will 'pass' the necessary tests to qualify for ESA but is a guide only.

Please feel free to ask more questions however we are unable to answer case specific enquiries regarding a claim, but can explain how the processes should work.

Pete


Mod Edit - Sorry Survivor, your post wasn't there when I started to type.

Pete

Thank you for you prompt replies. Already I am finding B&W very informative. My last medical was with Atos in 2008 which was the PCA, and I sailed through that. However, I have read that the new approach to medicals makes it very hard to qualify for ESA, and this does worry me. I will follow your advise when it comes to filling in the ESA50, and hope for the best. Thank you again.

Survivor wrote:

There are provisions in place that mean that you will not be worse off. People who are migrated get at least as much as they were getting before.

Except that, if you were exempt from paying tax on IB because you were in receipt of the benefit ("Invalidity Benefit" as it was called then)before 1995, then you will now have to pay tax (if your total income is above your personal tax allowance) because ESA is a taxable benefit.

Thanks for adding that, Matty.