THE FULL FACTS

From the very informative Benefits and Work Website
http://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/news/l ... -to-appeal
No ESA for claimants who want to appeal

Employment and support allowance claimants who want to appeal against a decision they are capable of work will be forced to claim jobseekers allowance or go without benefits, possibly for many months, under a clause in the welfare reform bill currently going through parliament. Astonishingly, the government is already consulting on whether their harsh changes to the appeals procedure go far enough. We are urging readers to respond.

Currently, claimants who are found fit for work can continue to receive ESA at the assessment rate by immediately lodging an appeal if they think the decision is wrong. ESA will then remain in payment until the appeal is decided.

That is all set to change, however, under clause 99 of the welfare reform bill.

Under the new rules, which are intended to be effective from April 2013, claimants who wish to challenge a benefits decision – including ESA and DLA decisions - will no longer be allowed to choose to lodge an appeal immediately.
read more at: http://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/news/l ... -to-appeal


You can download a copy of the consultation document ‘Mandatory consideration of revision before appeal’ from a link on this page.
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/consultations/201 ... tion.shtml

The email address for responses, not later than 4 May, is
appeals.reform@dwp.gsi.gov.uk

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IMPORTANT FILES TO HELP UNDERSTAND HOW ESA WORKS
The Full Facts ESA50 Claim form and Guide (pdf download)
This guide is the most important file at site.including what illnesssess do not have to attend a medical
download/file.php?id=66

ESA SUPPORT GROUP CRITERIA
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=321

What to write if you think you should have a home visit
viewtopic.php?f=31&t=620&hilit=home+visit#p1871

I've been thinking about this.

I may be wrong but I believe that this is part of the same bill that will formally introduce PIP to replace DLA.

I also believe this change in the appeals process affects ALL benefits appeals, not just ESA, and there is no time limit on how long DWP will have to reconsider before allowing you to actually appeal.

Therefore probable situation (to a paranoid mind obviously, I wouldn't believe our beloved leaders are capable of such) based on the pattern so far - while migrating DLA claimants to PIP, disqualify as many people as possible during migration, sit on all their requests for reconsideration for as long as possible (blaming the "excessive workload" caused by migration) until the current appeals backlog for ESA is clear enough that the tribunals service can start to have the DLA-PIP migration appeals drip fed to them (minus the people who have in the mean time starved to death, taken their own lives or died from their conditions).

Could it be they've seen another huge logjam coming for the tribunals service when their next wave of disability denial starts?

Hi Caballero

Think they are already sitting on reconsiderations. At present, If you're on contribution based esa, your 365 days could well be up before you've got a decision. They probably hope we will just go away then and forget about appealing as we've had our years money. It will be absolutely disastrous if this amendment gets passed. In my case, and all those in similar situations, it would mean that after working solidly for over 30 years, I would only get esa for 3 months, then nothing till they decide otherwise.
Why did we all pay NI contributions then ? Can we get this refunded if we're not getting the benefit it was meant to provide ?

The govt is battering us from all sides - every day it's yet another cut. I can easily see now how all this can really get you down but we just have to keep challenging them and making it as difficult as we can - no one else will do it for us.