We'd like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum. This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are - or become - political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.
We're aware that dates on the Forum are not currently showing correctly. Please bear with us while we get this fixed, and see Site feedback for updates.
what next?

snailz
Posts: 39 Forumite
hi all. i was receiving income support and incapacity benefit for several years due to having M.E, last year i was moved over to esa in the support group. i have 2 children, 1 of which is autistic and she doesnt sleep, this has made my M.E worse as i cant any sleep myself, my doctor has also said i am depressed and suffer from frequent anxiety attacks. anyway today i had my second atos exam, the lady who did the exam asked me mainly questions about my daughter and how it affects my m.e and depression. at the end she concluded that in her opinion i did not qualify for esa as i should be on income support instead, she said i was totally unfit for work but due to having children my esa was irrelevant and i would fail. can anyone tell me if this is correct? iv always been on incapacity benefit because of my illness despite the fact that i have children (around 5 years). if i move onto just income support my money will be deducted by £50 a week and i already struggle.
0
Comments
-
"The lady" is not there to decide on your benefit entitlement. You will not fail because of your children, they are not relevant to the decision.
Do you receive DLA, and does your child also? You may not be worse off on IS, and it will take away the stress of going through the medicals.0 -
my daughter receives high rate care dla but i was turned down when i applied, sadly i didnt appeal as i wasnt aware i could. does the income support rate go higher if you have a disabled child or remain the same? the lady who did the assessment, her argument was that, my autistic childs problems have brought on my depression, this may be true, my argument is that i always had m.e before she was born.0
-
The HCP definitely should not be giving you benefit related advice. The Work Capability Assessment for which a face to face ATOS medical may be included in order to get important opinion of a HCP to help the DWP take a decision on the WCA is a very separate matter to what benefits you should be claiming for or getting. The HCPs responsibility is to carry out a disability assessment in relation to the WCA criteria and provide report through use of a bespoke piece of software, not work for the DWP or a be a benefits advisor. I'd be inclined to make complaint. Recommend strongly you request copy of the resulting medical report ESA85 from DWP later in the week. Regarding the benefit best for you... others are better to advise... some of us know our knowledge range and try to stick within it..lol"Do not attribute to conspiracy what can adequately be explained by incompetence" - rogerblack0
-
thanks. before i went to the assessment i read up on the sort of questions i would be asked and how points are scored. while i was there she did not ask me any of these questions. only questions about my daughter, such as, how many hours she slept at night and did she attend school etc. she didnt ask me anything about what i could and couldnt do, apart from could i make my baby bottles up (dd2 is 7 months) and what side effects i suffered with my medications. nothing like how far could i walk or did i watch tele or have a social life, it was all based around my daughter and how her lack of sleep affected my sleep and therefor my condition would not improve until her sleep improved. it was all very strange, i felt like i was doing a medical for my daughter.0
-
the HCP was rught ( even if it isnt her job to tell you)
as your daughter gets high rate care, you can claim carers allowance. as a carer you would be entitled to income support.
does your daughter have a social worker? they could arrange respite care to allow you a decent nights sleep now and then, which hopefully, might help your own condition0 -
infact iv just looked over the questions again and she didnt ask me any of them, nothing to do with moving around, hazards, concentration, toilet needs, completing tasks etc, this cant be right? how can she score me if the questions were not asked?0
-
thanks nanny, my boyfriend claims carers allowance for my daughter, when he looks after her its the only time i get some rest. we live seperately so its just me who is up all night with her. it made sense for him to claim so i could get a break, if i had claimed, i would never get the break. we are waiting to hear back from social services at the moment0
-
sorry im just wondering why she was right? just because i have children doesnt mean that im not ill too? surely?? there must be other people who are on esa who have children?0
-
infact iv just looked over the questions again and she didnt ask me any of them, nothing to do with moving around, hazards, concentration, toilet needs, completing tasks etc, this cant be right? how can she score me if the questions were not asked?
The questions may be quite indirect. Clearly this medical didn't go as they're meant to but it is possible the questions in relation to daughter are valid for the WCA... to establish facts that can be used/extrapolated to determine applicability of descriptors. Your day to day life is going to be laced with issues regarding your daughter..i.e. your day to day activity and capability is perhaps best established by what you do with them... because in relation to them you're going to have to perform in all sorts of physical and cognitive ways.
To confirm. You cannot fail the WCA because you have a child. This is not tested for. Probably things weren't communicated with clarity by the wannabe benefits advisor... she was probably referring to ESA in more general terms."Do not attribute to conspiracy what can adequately be explained by incompetence" - rogerblack0 -
ah ok i see your point, maybe thats a good thing then because i stated that my boyfriend did all work as i was too exhausted after being awake all night, i told her that he took her to and from school and prepared all the meals, i told her that i give my baby her bottle but he baths her as im quite clumsy. maybe these questions will go in my favor.0
This discussion has been closed.
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply

Categories
- All Categories
- 348.3K Banking & Borrowing
- 252.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 452.4K Spending & Discounts
- 240.9K Work, Benefits & Business
- 617.2K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 175.7K Life & Family
- 254.1K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16K Discuss & Feedback
- 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards