Reapplying for ESA.

Hi there, I applied for ESA in October 2011 and after failing my "medical" by ATOS, I then appealed. I have recently attended the tribunal appeal hearing and was told I am not eligible for ESA. What I would like to know is, am I able to apply again for ESA and if so can I apply for the same reasons?
Also, if I decide not to reapply for ESA, am I still able to get housing benefit as all I will have to live on will be child tax credit, child benefit and £100 a month child maintence. I may be able to just about scrape by if I can get housing benefit. I would rather do that than go through the stress of trying to get ESA again. Thank you.

I am sorry to hear that the tribunal found against you It is probaly worth getting a Statement of Reasons andgetting an expert to confirm whether they believe there was any error in law. If not, as you know, you cannot take this claim any further.

Tribunals – Requesting a Statement of Reasons

What is an Error of Law?

As long as 6 months have elapsed since the first decision - which is almost a given considering the time taken to get to appeal - then you can apply again without needing to have a new condition or a worstening of the current one.

Eirwen wrote: Hi there, I applied for ESA in October 2011 and after failing my "medical" by ATOS, I then appealed. I have recently attended the tribunal appeal hearing and was told I am not eligible for ESA. What I would like to know is, am I able to apply again for ESA and if so can I apply for the same reasons?
Also, if I decide not to reapply for ESA, am I still able to get housing benefit as all I will have to live on will be child tax credit, child benefit and £100 a month child maintence. I may be able to just about scrape by if I can get housing benefit. I would rather do that than go through the stress of trying to get ESA again. Thank you.

Hi E,

If 6 months or more has passed since the date of the fit for work decision that you took to appeal, then yes, you can make a fresh claim for ESA.

You could also make a fresh ESA Claim if less than 6 months have passed and you can show that your condition has deteriorated or you are now suffering with new mwdical conditions.

In either scenario your starting point would be to obtain a Med 3 "fit note" from your G.P. and fill in an ESA1 Claim Form which can be accessed here :

www.gov.uk/employment-support-allowance/how-to-claim

With respect to your query reagrding HB, I'm afraid that we do not advise on H.B.

You may wish to seek professional face to face advice, where they would have access to all your personal details, see : Where to get advice?

Or you could put Welfare Rights/Advice and your Town or Postcode into your internet search engine.

You may also find this site helpful, which has a : Benefits Calculator

bro58

Thank you for your response Mrs Hurtyback. I will check how long ago the first decision was and reapply, if I can face it. Not too sure I want to go down the route of a tribunal, I had a severe attack after the appeal hearing because of the stress and my condition.

Thank you bro58. Will check out the links you have given for hb.