PA4 - writing to the DM

Hello,

I've now received my PA4, and have found a number of areas where I feel like the assessor hasn't adhered to the guidance or applied the reliability criteria appropriately. I am detailing these in a letter to the DM.

Listening back to my recording, it's very obvious that the assessor repeatedly interrupted me to prevent me from adding to my answers (I didn't notice this at the time - they did it with a bit of charm). I'm presumably allowed to quote myself from the recording to provide examples of this? I won't be quoting the HP.

Towards the end of the assessment I became very stressed when I realised I hadn't been able to give all the info I'd been planning to (exacerbated by the brain fog that had set in by then). To me, this distress is very clear from the recording (my voice breaks when I start to cry, and I sound pretty panicked). Am I allowed to say "I became audibly distressed"? I'd be doing so to counter the HP's MSE, which indicate on the report no cognitive impairment and intact concentration, as well as his behaviour report that indicates no evidence of anxiety etc.

I realise "audible distress" may be considered a matter of opinion rather than fact (even though it was my distress and I remember it well!), so I'm not sure if this is appropriate to include?

Finally, am I allowed to state in the letter that I am able to provide a copy of the recording to evidence all of the above, or would that go beyond the bounds of personal use? The assessment was recorded by IAS too, so the HP had consented to being recorded, though I presumably won't have the CD for a while.

Thanks!

Thank you Gary.

Yes, I've requested a copy of the recording. I just meant that the CD is likely to arrive after I send off this letter in the next few days. So, the only way I can say I've listened to a recording and can quote examples of times the HP interrupted me and prevented me from answering fully is by saying I've listened to my own recording.

I'm definitely trying just to stick to the facts, and referring to the DWP guidance where it has not been met. E.g, "The HP should encourage the claimant to expand on their answers to explore how easy or difficult they find a task" - the HP cutting me off and preventing me from finishing my statements is contrary to guidance, and seems clear cut if I can provide examples quotes from the recording?

I was also going to quote the statements I made when symptoms started kicking in part way through the assessment (i.e. dizziness/brain fog), and affected my capacity to answer questions - not something I would have been able to recall without listening back to the recording. (And of course, not something the HP has mentioned on their report, even though it has a bearing on my ability to perform certain activities.)

If it's not sensible to mention the recording though I can make it more general. I thought the specificity might be more helpful, since it's about arguing the facts?

Hi VS,
Back in the days of DIY old school cassette recording you can hear our daughter intermittently sobbing and sniffling through the assessment. The PA4 had over and over cut'n'paste that she 'did not appear distressed and coped well with the assessment'. I challenged this saying that she can be heard crying at minutes x, y and z and she won.
A friend I supported more recently with her ESA phone assessment chased the recording and got told they sent every week's off all together on a Friday. It did turn up consistent with this.
Hope this may help. I would not leave it long before chasing the CD though.
Best wishes,
Denby

Thank you Denby and Gordon. I'll refer to having listened to a recording without specifying which.

There are a few areas where the HP has ignored reliability criteria, so I have a few concrete points to argue. I figured being able to counter the HP's observations of me, and show he didn't let me answer fully, would also help show the report is bunk. This is a good reminder to focus most of my energy on the criteria themselves though.