ESA reviews/WCA's suspended for current claimants for 2 years

Mr_Lawnmower

rogerblack wrote: »

As a point of law - it is quite within the DWPs power, with no legislative changes whatsoever to do the above halting of WCAs.

It is also quite within their power to conduct any legally required reviews for people unlikely to get better on paper only, without contacting the claimant, if that is appropriate.

Indeed. ESA Regulation 19 gives DWP a discretionary power to reassess, not a requirement to reassess. Regulation 19(2) sets down what the assessment must achieve, but does not set down the means that must be used to effect those ends.


I think what rogerblack and I are both saying is that the law grants DWP considerable discretion over operational matters relating to the WCA. The future shape of the WCA may be significantly different to how it is run under the outgoing ATOS contract.

Morglin

rogerblack wrote: »

As a point of law - it is quite within the DWPs power, with no legislative changes whatsoever to do the above halting of WCAs.

It is also quite within their power to conduct any legally required reviews for people unlikely to get better on paper only, without contacting the claimant, if that is appropriate.

Yes, I think it always was, as some time back, on IB, my consultant got a form to fill out for me.

It was obviously all ok, as I didn't hear anything from them, from start to finish.

I think where this lot has had to be suspended, for a time, is that there have been many more full blown assessments for ESA, for people already on it, plus migrations, and the system has just become gridlocked.

I suppose with ATOS going, and new claims still coming in, they just feel this will give some breathing space to the whole thing, and clear the backlogs with claims, reviews and appeals.

I don't know why they just don't go back to the 'some exemptions' system where it was acknowledged, that with some disabilities/diseases, certain people were never really going to be able to work again.

Lin

speedfreek1000

Nope it was decided mid 2013 that ATOS would be losing the WCA assessment contract mid 2014.

With the constant new influx of claimants, coupled with the IB > ESA transfers, the DWP pressure for short re-assessment periods and lets not forget the mythical expected off-flow figures (never happened) it was always going to end up like this.

ilegal did a stats breakdown showing that there are only 60,000 less claimants on current ESA than there was at the hight of IB.

Anyone with half a brain could have foreseen this... Oh....

Have a look at the trouble PIP is in http://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Personal-Independence-Payment-early-progress.pdf

Now exactly the same things that's happened with ESA is already being reported in PIP. Granted the lack of ATOS testing centers expedited that but the principle is the same.

So.....

Who next Crapita, GFraudS, A4Greed or Sec whatever? Same problem different day probably an even heftier paycheck.

TiddlyPom

Strange. I have been on ESA in the Support Group for several years and have just had to return an ESA50.

Richie-from-the-Boro

The future shape of the WCA

Litchfield followed Harrington and the fourth [STRIKE]independent[/STRIKE] review of the WCA was born, the fifth and final review will be due out by the end of this year.

- Harrington made 49 recommendations
- 35 of which were accepted in full by the Department
- 10 were accepted in principle or provisionally
- of the remaining four recommendations, three were not within DWP’s remit.

- Litchfield agreed that of the above Harrington proposals
- of those accepted in full, 29 had been fully implemented
- three had been partially implemented
- and three more are still in progress
- and of those accepted in principle five had been fully implemented, two partially implemented
- and three are still in progress

Most of what the GOV has pre-agreed to [including Litchfield's five policy and operation recommendations] prior to the end of this years publication is in here

Morglin

TiddlyPom wrote: »

Strange. I have been on ESA in the Support Group for several years and have just had to return an ESA50.

Some were held over from before Christmas, and are currently being sent out, because of delays.

Lin