Forthcoming Appeal

Hello,
I am waiting for an appeal date re ESA.
I have questions about descriptors and terminology if anyone can help please.
In the statement from the DWP to the appeal trib it said that the "Decision Maker" reviewed all the evidence etc etc. My question is, in what way are the decision makers qualified?
I am assuming they have the relevent knowledge and expertise to be able to override the medical doctors opinion which has been done in my case.
Also, in their statement explaining why they feel I am not entitled to ESA they quote various Acts but mainly the Welfare Reform Acts of 2007 and 2008.
In the 2007 Act, ESA is covered in part 1, and section [4] says,
[a] "his capability for work is limited by his physical or mental condition" and,
"the limitation is such that it is not reasonable to require him to work".
There are no other physical/mental assessment criteria that I could see. Am I correct in thinking that they use the ESA50 10/08 for deciding compliance, followed by the medical evidence.
Regards,
Volvomanx

Hi Volvomanx,

Decision makers don't need to have any qualifications at all - indeed some decisions in relation to NI contributions can be made by a computer acting on behalf of the secretary of state. In other words, anybody can be a decision maker if the DWP gives them the title.

I don't quite follow your second question. The physical and mental criteria for entry into the work-related activity group and the support group are set out in the legislation - I can't off the top of my head quote the regs but you could google them. But they are, in essence the exemptions, exceptional cicumstances and descriptors set out in our guides.

Steve

Hi Steve,
Thanks for the reply.
I am a little disturbed to realise that the decision maker can override the findings of the ATOS Dr. It seems the docs don't often report in favour of the claimant, and when they do, as in my case, it is changed anyway.

Sorry to confuse with the second question but I was confused also. When I made an initial search for information re my appeal, I came across the Disbility Discrimination Act and it was really easy to understand. It gives many definitions of terms used within the Act and they are all very positive in respect of the claimant. For example, it says that if a chronic condition is relieved by medication, this fact must be disregarded for the purpose of the assessment.
Sadly, I suspect our appeals must be judged using the criteria within the Welfare Reform Act which looks as though it was hurried through Parliament, half thought about, purely for the purpose of introducing the ESA benefit and in doing so, creating as much ambiguity and confusion as possible.
Thanks for reminding me about your guides. They are excellent, and I have read them over.
Regards,
Volvomanx