ESA limited work capability questionnaire

Bryando

Got this morning the limited capability work questionnaire:( Been dreading this since I discovered I shall be moving from Income Support to ESA.

Any advice in filling it out? I very much doubt I will be sending in medical evidence as consultant is refusing to do letters etc. Not much I can do!

Horseunderwater

Concentrate on the ESA descriptors and how they relate to you.
http://pseudo-living.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/esa-descriptors-and-points.html
Click on this link above and it will take you to them. Find which ones apply - the first ones are for WRAG and the 2nd ones are for the Support group, followed by some exceptional circumstances that normally mean you get straight into the support group. That is how to get ESA - it is not about your illnesses as such but how you get affected by them - either physically or mentally or both.

BRIANCARSON

rather than filling in a paper form use this http://www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consum_dg/groups/dg_digitalassets/@dg/@en/@money/documents/digitalasset/dg_195544.pdf
provided you have access to a printer - comes in very handy if you get sent a second one next year.

I was moved on to ESA{WRAG} but after one year I had to claim again so as most of the details remain the same it saved me loads of time.

johnkat

sliverman wrote: »

The only obligation you have is that you must return the ESA50 to ATOS by the due date.

What you put on the form is your choice. Some spend hours giving details of every little event, whilst others just give the barest of details.

Once you have returned the ESA50 then your job is done.

You are under no obligation to send any reports, evidence etc with the form. The notes on the form say you can, but they cannot force you to do so.
Some claimants may tell you that you must approach all of the medical people you have contact with to get a report off - that is entirely your choice.

The next thing is that you must attend the F2F assessment with ATOS, otherwise they will knock your benefit.

So don't worry, just fill in the ESA50 to the best of your ability and put it in the post.

The time to get evidence together will be for the Tribunal hearing which will probably be a year away.

True..Except sending medical evidence in support of the completed ESA50 may avoid the need to attend a face to face.

Murphymycat

I have sent in 2 of these forms now, and didn't send in any medical evidence because I didn't really think it would make any difference.

The first time I attended the "medical" and was put in the WRAG group, the second time I was put in the WRAG group without a medical.

The important thing to remember is that you won't pass or fail on just your medical condition but how it affects your capabilities of doing certain things as outlined in the descriptors. They seem to be all that matters. There is tons of helpful advice on this site, especially from Roger Black and Muttley the Frog. Read what they say and I wish you the best of luck

Horseunderwater

No you send in ESA50 form as soon as it is fully completed and within the time limit given by ATOS. It is they who then decide based on what you wrote on the form whether you need a F2F medical. 80% usually do. But as I said earlier concentrate on the descriptors that you are certain apply to you. Let them be a guide of a sort.
They will send you a letter stating any appointment times and if you have a problem with the date, you ring them and ask for it to be changed as soon as you can.

KxMx

I found it of enormous help to get assistance filling in my forms, ask to see someone at your local CAB/DAB.

You may feel you know your own condition best which is of course true, but someone on the outside has a bigger view and things that I myself would have put down as "no problems" due to it being normal for me (ie normal for me not to go to strange places, which of course it isn't), is shown not to be the case when someone objective is helping you.