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CLAIM ESA at assess rate whilst waiting for appeal

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6 years 6 months ago #196419 by KEITH TAIT
I am worried that I won`t be allowed to claim ESA at Assessment rate whilst waiting for my Tribunal Appeal-
The reason I am worried is because in 2012 I applied for ESA , turned down, and continued to claim ESA at assess rate for several months until my Tribunal appeal came up.(I failed the appeal)
I believe there is a rule that if you have claimed ESA before and received the assessment rate until the Tribunal then a claimant is not allowed to claim the assesment rate of ESA for a second time.Is this true?Can I claim 5 yrs later after again.?

Please could you let me know if I am eligible to claim ESA at assessment rate in a couple of weeks time after my MR has been turned down(I`m assuming it will be as I only supplied a GP`s letter for additional evidence)So they have told me I will receive a decision on my MR by September 7th, so I was hoping that I would be able to appeal quickly, get the reply, apply for ESA assessment rate and get on ESA assess rate before the 13 weeks of my Extended Period of Sickness have finished on November 9th, 2017.

Supposing I can claim ESA assessment rate again up to the Appeal, d`you think I should be able to get my Appeal acknowledgment thru and therefore get back on ESA before November 11th, 2017.

I understand I have to shut down my JSA before, so would shut it down after my last signing day.

On 2 another matters regarding my attendance, even though I have submitted a fit note for the Exptended Period of Sickness:and a letter from my GP:
Of course my Job Centre advisor has been hassling me saying the 13 week fit note I have given in whilst waiting for my MR and Appeal is not worth anything, andI I still have to look for work and so on, and is intending to get me do as much as I can, as far as attending work focused interviews and so on.I will be seeing the advisor when I sign on in 2 weeks time.I managed to avoid signing on yesterday as I said I was at the Doctor`s.

But I thought the DWP weren`t allowed to send you on a work programme, voluntary work placement if you had a sick note and a GP`s letter.

This leads to my second problem regarding attending Health appointments and having to attend agencies for treatment whilst being asked by the Job Centre to continue signing and fulfilling 35 hours job search ASW and everything else they expect even though I have given them a 13 week sick note and a Doctors letter explaiming that I am not fit for work and should be allowed the freedom to attend health agencies appointments without having to phone the Job Centre everyday explaining why i cannot attend or why I am not looking for work and so on.

Can you advise on this, its a Catch 22 situation, in that if did not have to sign on and didn`t have to spend 35 hrs a week looking for jobs etc, then I might actually have time to get better..I would have the freedom to plan my life and actually be motivated to put 100% into my recovery, instead of being bullied by a Job Centre advisor, who knows nothing about my problems or the actual health problem and treatment of it.


It seems I would have to negotiate with the Job centre every day,(if I wanted to follow a planned daily care plan involving daily attendance) which is unfair, because if I was allowed the freedom to attend agencies for counselling /treatment I might actually get a lot better.

Its alright them saying that I can do these things,if I let them know, or more like if I ask them; but it seems unfair that they should be privy to private issues relating to my health, when in fact they are not health professionals, merely job centre advisors.

I should not have to justify not fulfilling the Job seekers commitments.I shouldn`t have to explain to the Job centre in depth my problems just so I can have time off from Job seekers commitments., in order to get better.
So on the Job seekers agreement the Job centre advisor puts things like, will attend the Drug rehabilitation agency and organise meetings etc.by 9/8/17-Since that was put on my Job Seekers agreement I have supplied a 13 week Fit note for the EPS.
I suffer from depression and other health issues, such as depression,prostate problems and am awaiting surgery, in addition to prescription drug addiction.
It is very upsetting to have to explain all my problems to a job centre advisor, and have them organising my treatment when it is actually nothing to do with them.It should be my GP who I am meeting every other day in order to assist in my motivation and get the best out of my treatment at the drug rehab agency.

My Doctor has written a note saying that all the stress of having to sign on etc is going to interfere with my attendance at the Drug Rehabilitation agency, and affect my ability to successfully wean myself off prescription drugs, in so far asI would have to attend every day for several month and have counselling etc, so how am I supposed to do that and fulfill the JSA commitments.

If I had loads of money and went into residential rehabilitation, they would have no choice but to give me ESA, as I could be in hospital for several months and be in recovery for several more.I already have told them I have surgery on my prostate coming up and that is 3 months recovery.
So if I fail the appeal this time, can I reapply for ESA with the problem of my prescription medication listed as my most important problem this time.
On the original ESA app form, I did not mention presc addiction -it was only at the WCA I mentioned it, so maybe that`s why they have ignored it on my WCA.
(I did not read your guide util after I had applied for ESA)

So primarily can you advise me regarding if I can claim ESA at ass rate whilst waiting for Appeal hearing?Thanks.

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6 years 6 months ago #196433 by Gordon
KT

If the previous Decision on an ESA claim was a Fit for Work one, so that you have had two FfW Decisions in a row, no matter how long ago the previous one was, then I would not expect you to be eligible for payment of the ESA Assessment Rate while you await for this latest appeal to be heard.

As to the JSA, it is important that you understand that this is a full claim for JSA, although your advisor must take reasonable account of the limitations that result from your conditions in defining a Claimant Commitment they do not have to make any further allowances because you are appealing your ESA Decision.

Your Fit Note should excuse you from your Claimant Commitment so if the advisor is not taking notice of this then you should escalate the problem to their supervisor, they are not medically trained and therefore should not be trying to second guess your GP's statement that you are unfit at this time. But be aware, at the end of the 13 weeks you lose all protection, you must comply or you risk sanction, or even the refusal of your JSA claim if you are deemed to be unable to meet the requirements of your Commitment.

Gordon

Gordon

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems

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6 years 6 months ago #196438 by KEITH TAIT
Thank-you Gordon,
Would I be allowed to claim ESA again, if my Mandatory Consideration decision is against my appeal.
Rather than take my case to appeal, could I apply for ESA again, with either a deterioration of existing condition or a new health problem?

My claim this year was in January, and my WCA was July 11th, is there a time limit between ESA apps

Look forward to your advice

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6 years 6 months ago #196441 by Gordon
KT

There is no waiting period for you to make a new claim, you will need to show a deteriorated condition or a new condition reasonably likely to result in an award.

If you can't show this or it is not accepted then the DWP may make a Decision on your claim based on the last assessment report and refuse the claim, even if they allow the claim, they may refuse payment until you have attended an assessment, this is not an appealable Decision.

You would need to close your JSA claim in order to make the ESA claim and you would not be able to re-claim JSA if payment is refused until an assessment is done without closing the ESA claim and declaring yourself Fit for Work.

Gordon

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems

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6 years 6 months ago #196448 by KEITH TAIT
Thanks for your reply:
Is there a reason why they do not pay ESA during the assessment phase, after I have put in my new claim for ESA?

Are you saying that they can refuse to pay the ESA assessment rate whilst I am waiting for my new claim to be assessed for ESA?

What criteria do they use to decide whether to pay the ESA assessment rate in this case?

I would have to get my GP to write a letter stating that my health has deteriorated further since the last WCA-I got 6 points previously for not being able to cope with unplanned small changes so I could possibly be awarded more points if I were to fully answer the questions more accurately-because I did not have any guide in January,I believe I left a lot out, and it still constitutes a deterioration-by applying the criteria as you suggest in your guide, it would be a much more truthful picture of my ability to perform the descriptors.

Would you advise re-applying given that last time, I did not fully complete the form as I should have done giving regard to the detailed guide -and the fact that I feel now I could describe my health in relation to the descriptor much more truthfully.?

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6 years 6 months ago #196452 by Gordon
K

Is there a reason why they do not pay ESA during the assessment phase, after I have put in my new claim for ESA?


Yes, because they are no longer required to do so.

Are you saying that they can refuse to pay the ESA assessment rate whilst I am waiting for my new claim to be assessed for ESA?


Yes they can refuse pending your attending an assessment.

I would have to get my GP to write a letter stating that my health has deteriorated further since the last WCA


It is not enough to just show a deterioration, there has to be a reasonable prospect of an award, there are deterioration where this would not be the case. If you only scored for Coping with Change then you would need to show that meet the following

14 (a) Cannot cope with any change to the extent that day to day life cannot be managed. 15 points

for there to be a reasonable prospect of an award. Can you show that you should score other activities?

Whether to re-apply has to be your Decision, I can't offer any advice either way.

Gordon

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
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