Handy info from my Carers Centre

[Ozzygirl64]

I registered with the Carers Centre after I was awarded Carers allowance for my daughter, DWp left me nop choice, but I am not going into that right now. Anyway, today I recieved their newsletter and it says we can send info to any of our contacts, i.e, my friends here. So here it is and I hope you may find it of some use now or in the future xxxxx

Frequency of ESA assessments: Many people are shocked to discover that very shortly (in one case the very next day !) after winning an appeal they receive another ESA50 form and have to start all over again. If someone appeals their ESA and is successful at tribunal, an award of benefit is backdated to the time of the original decision. The tribunal panel also sets the review period, which is also backdated; the maximum review period that a tribunal can set is 2 years but will more commonly be 1 year. As it can often take 9 months for an appeal to be heard, a claimant faces the prospect of having to fill out more forms very soon after a successful decision on their ESA (especially as forms are often sent a couple of months before the review date, so a decision can be made before the benefit runs out). Our Advice Service recommends that for the first claim the client gets supporting

medical evidence from their medical professionals in support of, not only their claim, but also in terms of a decisionon when they will next be subject to a review. If a medical professional can provide evidence that states that their condition has not changed since the last review (if already claiming the benefit) and/or that the conditions are likely to stay the same for a considerable period of time (e.g. 2-3 years), then a claimant could ask that the next review is not carried out until the end of this period. If appealing a decision and going to a tribunal, then it is important to address the issue of review periods directly during the hearing. Again, if a person can get medical evidence that states their condition is likely to remain the same for a period of time then they could ask the tribunal to consider a review date of longer than 1 year.

[ArctoLindy]

Thanks for the info. One of my friends got the ESA50 the day after their successful appeal too

[Ozzygirl64]

I just cannot believe how much money has gone on all of this in the effort to 'save money' xxxxx