After a work capability assessment earlier this year, my 35 year old son (severe brain injury, 2013) was given 0 points and all benefits were stopped suddenly.
I had received a call from DWP advising me of this decision and that his benefits would stop that day. I was also advised to apply for Universal Credit immediately. Two days later my son received a P45 in the post and was basically told to go and get a job. I did not apply immediately for UC. I chose to ask for a mandatory reconsideration and started to prepare my evidence for the appeal.
My son ‘presents himself’ pretty well. Unless you look beneath the surface he gives the impression that he is far more capable than he is. In one way this is good - but in a work capability assessment, it isn’t.
If the ESA questioning for brain injured claimants was robust and effective then my son’s serious issues with memory recall and communication would have been obvious. Even though I attended the assessment with him, we still were unable to clarify the extent of his disabilities to his assessor.
His memory was not tested. He was asked to read a paragraph of information (which he did). He was not asked if he could either understand the paragraph, or remember it (which he didn’t). This showed a complete lack of health and safety awareness on behalf of the assessor and to me highlighted a serious potential for danger in the workplace. We asked for a mandatory reconsideration on that basis.
We won. The decision was overturned and my son was placed in the work related activity group - the perfect place for him to be. The decision maker realised that my son did not need to be in the support group and that he was ready for work related activity. The decision maker also realised that my son DID need support to help him reach his next enormous goal (paid employment). This decision was fare and responsible - but should have been made at the initial assessment. We are now awaiting our first work based interview.
Preparing the mandatory reconsideration appeal was exhausting and stressful - not for my son because he could not have even begun the appeal process - but for me and others in our family. As a family group, we have always tried to recognise any positive progress (no matter how small) so to dwell on negativity, concentrating on what my son could NOT do, for the two weeks it took to compile the evidence, was very distressing.
Common sense can prevail - but mostly doesn’t seem to when it comes to ESA assessments. Certainly not when the claimant isn’t given the opportunity to illustrate their disabilities and may not even have the capacity to do so.
I am pleased that the next part of my son’s ‘journey’ will be supported (let’s hope!) but incredibly sad for those in a similar situation and without others to fight for them.
Most people with brain injuries are not trying to falsely claim financial support and they should be better understood in these assessments - but how that can happen, I’m not sure... any thoughts Headway? X
esa
ESA again
PIP assessment
PIP, cancelled again!!!!!!!
