Appeal re esa decision and monies to be paid

Could any body please advise earlier this year my wife had her esa stopped after a medical she asked for mandatory reconsideration which supported the original decision
We have appealed and and today recieved the dss reply which consists of a large collection of papers and a disturbing letter
The letter outlines my wife will be paid the assessment rate of 73.10 per week and then goes onto state she may be required to attend work focused interviews and provide medical statements
Could anybody please explain what the dss are doing as the basis of our appeal against the esa being stopped is that my wife is unfit to work I.e. she has no capacity for work due to her ongoing medical issues
We don’t want to be in the position of having to pay the monies back if the appeal is not successful

Hi Chaza,

DWP will pay the ESA assessment rate between now and the tribunal decision - as long as 'fitnotes' are supplied to cover those dates.

If your wife does get an appointment for a Work Focussed Interview, the JobCentre advisor will not have access to have any of her medical information. A phonecall to the person concerned might result in such interviews being carried out over the phone (or even delayed) but this is entirely at the discretion of the advisor.

Don't forget that ESA will only be awarded, by DWP or the Tribunal Service, if the claimant shows how/why they meet the very specific descriptors. These have little to do with simply being unfit to work!

Thank you for the reply
Does anybody know if we accept the money does it affect in any way our appeal.
If we lose the appeal do we have to pay the money back
Is it worth telling dss /DWP we don’t want the monies if it affects the appeal I.e. if we accept it are we accepting that I have some capability for work