ESA mandatory reconsideration decision

"Your assessment was about how you are limited at that time, historical information about how you were effected the last time you were in the WRAG is relevant, but only if you were saying that you still effected to that degree."

Yes, thanks that is obviously an important point. I did say at the WCA, as I mentioned in one of the above posts that it had only been a few months ago that I was in the WRAG and that those circumstances still applied to my situation.

Actually I just noticed something potentially significant in the DWP letter in which they refused to reverse the decision.

They write: "There is no evidence that finding you capable of work related activity would place you at substantial risk in the context of the journey to and from the Jobcenter (or other provider) or whilst there".

Now I understand that the DWP are free to weigh the evidence in each case and come to their own conclusions but to say that there is "no evidence" at all in my case is, surely, simply factually untrue.

After all, as described in my above posts, I made very clear at the WCA that attending these environments had caused me great harm and anxiety at the time: I made this clear also in the letter requesting reconsideration, and also backed this up by pointing out that I still had the audio disk from the WCA in which I had made p these things plain to the HCP as well.

Is it possible that, even before I go any further, I can get the DWP to accept that what they have said is factually wrong? Not being persuaded by evidence is one thing, to say that it doesn't even exist when it does is surely another.

The letter was sent at the end of November, so how would I have to challenge factual basis of that letter before doing anything else? (I mean, if facts stated within it can be shown to be clearly untrue, not just judgements calls).

Oh no sorry that's not what I was talking about. As you say, the journey to the workplace is irrelevant, it was my inability to cope with the WRA environment which I had given specific evidence about.

Come to think about it, I provided a letter, back when I was in the WRAG from last time, explaining how W.R.A had caused my mental health to deteriorate very severly, which I had delivered to the DWP by recorded delivery. Ought they still to have that letter? Or would they have been able to bin it & so deny its existence?

Yes, I know Gordon, but as I said these experiences were only last year, and only a couple of months before the WCA, plus I made clear at the WCA that such reactions were a good indication of how I was at that time, the HPC simply chose to ignore that information and not mention it in his report. Was just reading the Government WCA handbook and it appears to say:

"The review and evaluation of all previous evidence [....] is critical to providing advice to the Decision Maker.
and...
"It is imperative that the HCP considers all the available evidence before providing advice to the DM."

Or am I reading those guidelines wrongly? It is, after all a complicated area that's for sure!