Anyone else worried about the ESA time limit changes?

Richie-from-the-Boro

I'm worried about the new welfare reforms generally, and happily worried about ESA in particular, you see :

- appeals [ all benefits ] are running at 40%+ won by the claimant
- eight or more cases are heard every day at each tribunal throughout the land
- ESA appeals have increased by 167% between 2008 and 2010 [ last good figures ]
- they have had to move to single [ instead of 3 ] judicial member reviews ' paper only ' cases '
- the average unit cost of processing an SSCS appeal hearing is £270.00 but does not include all the agencies ' prep ' costs
- its any-ones guesstimate by what % they will increase - but increase they will over a decreasing 5 years
- the total SS appeals [ including ESA ] for 2010-2011 was a staggering 418,500

My Microsoft windows calculator says £279.00 per unit case cost multiplied by 418,500 appeals equals £116,761,500.00 that's £116.7m per annum. Making the fragile assumption that the % of appeals will not go up [STRIKE][ dream on ][/STRIKE] over the next 5 years is £279.00 per unit case cost multiplied by 418,500 multiplied by the 5 years is 2,092,500 appeals at £583,807,500.00. So by 2015 government will be spending over half a billion pounds! on processing 2 million appeals.

So all those who do not appeal or appeal on a paper hearing only remember two things :

- Your chances without appeal are very poor, and ;
- Your chances of succeeding are very considerably reduced by not attending your appeal in person, and ;
- You save the government 60% of their costs by not attending while simultaneously making it easier by 40%+ to refuse your appeal.

To all those who say, I can't go in person my ' head is in the shed ' ~ or ~ ' my gammy leg hurts ' ~ or ~ ' its too far '. Gimme a break no one can do it for you, you yourself have to fight for your rights, gerroff your arras and do the very best you can to fight for your rights, don't make it easy for them, go for an oral at any cost short of death ~ stand up and fight em !

rogerblack

Richie-from-the-Boro wrote: »

stand up and fight em !

Totally agree!
And remember - standing up and fighting them may help put you in the support group.
'Has, on a daily basis, uncontrollable episodes of aggressive or disinhibited behaviour that would be unreasonable in any workplace'

bagqueen

I have received my questionnaire for a review.. I feel that i meet support group criteria now as my mobility has deteriorated.. i will await the outcome. I just hope that i will still qualify for contribution based as i have claimed for 2 years already.

sunnyone

bagqueen wrote: »

I have received my questionnaire for a review.. I feel that i meet support group criteria now as my mobility has deteriorated.. i will await the outcome. I just hope that i will still qualify for contribution based as i have claimed for 2 years already.

Under what crieteria do you feel you should be in the support group under?

jonliv

bagqueen wrote: »

I have received my questionnaire for a review.. I feel that i meet support group criteria now as my mobility has deteriorated.. i will await the outcome. I just hope that i will still qualify for contribution based as i have claimed for 2 years already.

Hope you are like me I filled out the ESA50 questionnaire sent it back within a month The DWP collected information from my GP and the decision maker placed me in the ESA(C) Support Group with no medical just the info I supplied and my GP's letter

I have been in receipt of Incapacity Benefit (Contribution Based) for the last 10 years so if you are contribution based now you will still be contribution based in the future

This is one of the descriptors if you meet it you should be in the Support Group

1. Mobilising unaided by another person with or without a walking stick, manual wheelchair or other aid if such aid can reasonably be used.
Cannot either
(i) mobilise more than 50 metres on level ground without stopping in order to avoid significant discomfort or exhaustion
or
(ii) repeatedly mobilise 50 metres within a reasonable timescale because of significant discomfort or exhaustion.

good luck anyway

Jono

bagqueen

My walking has deteriorated significantly in the last 12 months. I no longer walk unaided, i also have to stop after a few metres because of pain and my balance.
My point also is that i am unable to work now and as my condition is a progressive one with no treatment-just self management- i can never see a time when i will be able to work. It is only because i do as much as i can physically that i am not already in a wheelchair.
As with many others it is not just the obvious problems- walking etc- but things like dressing, bathing, even cleaning my teeth that i have problems with. I hate the fact that i feel the need to explain to complete strangers all the day-to-day problems that i have and explain why i need help at home. I hate the fact that i have lost my personal and financial independence...

sunnyone

bagqueen wrote: »

My walking has deteriorated significantly in the last 12 months. I no longer walk unaided, i also have to stop after a few metres because of pain and my balance.
My point also is that i am unable to work now and as my condition is a progressive one with no treatment-just self management- i can never see a time when i will be able to work. It is only because i do as much as i can physically that i am not already in a wheelchair.
As with many others it is not just the obvious problems- walking etc- but things like dressing, bathing, even cleaning my teeth that i have problems with. I hate the fact that i feel the need to explain to complete strangers all the day-to-day problems that i have and explain why i need help at home. I hate the fact that i have lost my personal and financial independence...

You do not fulfil the criteria for the support group on mobilisation as they will just assess you as using a virtual wheelchair, it dosnt matter wether you use one or not, jonlivs clearly dosnt understand what he has posted above.

The previous criteria was apparently unfair to wheelchair users (:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:) that work so they changed the criteria to include virtual wheelchairs so that people who could mobilise in this imaginary aid failed.

bagqueen

Well how about the fact that i would not be able to self propel because of weakness in hands, arms and shoulders?

sunnyone

bagqueen wrote: »

Well how about the fact that i would not be able to self propel because of weakness in hands, arms and shoulders?

It wont matter because they wont ask that question, they will just assume that you could use a wheelchair to get around, thats the beauty of this rediculos legislation, nowhere else could a goverment use imaginary wheelchairs to decide benefit claims.

bagqueen

Well, i sent the form off this morning. In my opinion they really are not looking at the bigger picture. Being able to work involves more than just your physical ability to complete some work related task, as i have already said the impact on the rest of your life can be what makes you unable to work. I will just have to wait and see, but, i will appeal the decision if i am not awarded support group.