esa tribunal

allied123

My partner is on ESA and has been told to be in the work assessment group. unfortunately this means he has to go to job centre and be placed with an advisor. I have argued the point as he has severe agrophobia and has not left the house since 2006 due to being randomly attacked and has PTSD. He now has to go to a tribunal to argue his case - which he wont be able to do. So I will have to represent him. I have numerous doctors letters, Cog reports etc. I have my last chance to appeal in writing before the date is set - any ideals. Ive been to Citizens Advice but didnt find it that helpful. I work 20 hours per week and have to make sure me or my daughter are at home to keep an eye on him. I would be very grateful if anyone had any ideals for my case. Also what should I expect from the Tribunal.:(

Solitaires

I too have severe agoraphobia and have been virtually housebound for 20 years. I was allowed a home tribunal (I think they call it an out of centre tribunal). Fortunately my GP was very supportive and wrote numerous letters to support me in this. There is no way I could attend the tribunal in person.

Having said that I also had a home WCA so if your partner was able to travel to his assessment, he may have difficulty getting a home tribunal.

allied123

Hi thanks for your reply. My partner had a home medical assessment by a doctor who has not written the right information on the assessment form he has stated my partner left the house in 2011 it is in fact 2006. I have to update this information and request to represent. No one has told me he could have a home tribunal. How were you told
thanks

Solitaires

I was put in the WRAG group originally and as it was not possible for me to attend WFI's and those courses you can be put on I had to ask the decision maker to look at their decision again, which I guess is the stage you're at now.

They wouldn't change their decision so it went to appeal. I received a letter from the tribunals service that very clearly set out all the information about an appeal and it's at this point I requested a Domicillary Tribunal. I think somewhere in the papers it mentioned about being unable to attend in person, maybe on the forms you have to fill in saying you wish to proceed with the Tribunal. If need be once you get their letter you could phone them and explain the situation and ask for a DT.

You, or rather your partner, will need quite strongly worded letters of support from your GP or other HCP specifically about a DT. The Tribunal Service will also write direct to your GP requesting information.

From my experience you don't need to worry about contacting the Tribunal Service at all. I found them to be very kind, helpful and sympathetic to my situation, unlike ATOS and the DWP.

nannytone_2

they wont allow you to go before the tribunal and represent him in his absence. the whole point of the tribunal is for them to assess him.
ive never heard of a tribunal being heard in anyones home, but could be wrong.

if a claimant doesnt attend in person they will proceed to a 'paper' appeal and make a decision in his absence

Solitaires

Well Nannytone, as explained in my post above I had a home tribunal. They did initially suggest that it was held at a neutral centre somewhere close to my home i.e a church hall room or GP's surgery room, which they would pay for, but in the end it was held at my house.

There were two people, a judge and a mental health doctor who were both very pleasant and highly professional. They carefully led me through the process making sure I understood everything and they were very skilful at getting the correct information. They fairly quickly came to the point where they didn't need to hear any more and allowed the appeal.

In fact it is the second Home Tribunal I have had. The first one pre-ESA when I was on Income Support.

benefitbaby

nannytone wrote: »

they wont allow you to go before the tribunal and represent him in his absence. the whole point of the tribunal is for them to assess him.
ive never heard of a tribunal being heard in anyones home, but could be wrong.

if a claimant doesnt attend in person they will proceed to a 'paper' appeal and make a decision in his absence

A tribunal can continue without a hearing if the representative but not the appellant is present.

Additionally First-tier Tribunals have to be very careful about proceeding with a paper hearing (in the absence of an appellant/rep) without first establishing why the appellant is not there and ensuring that they are able to make sufficient findings of fact without the witnesses. There is lots of case law on this issue.

The OP's OH should request a domicilary hearing and provide medical evidence stating very clearly that they could not leave the house to attend a hearing.