Mother's ESA Medical failed and reconsideration failed also. HELP!

JadeLouise

Hello,

Bit of background information - my mother is 43 years old and is impaired both physically and mentally; mentally so for her whole life with an intellectual disability she was born with that restricts her understanding, awareness and knowledge of everything as well as suffering with severe long term depression and anxiety.

Up until January this year, for her whole life, she has been claiming disability benefits, managed by my Grandmother (my mums mum) as she has no idea how to deal with money. At the end of January she had her usual work capability assessment which goes through the basic questions of being able to walk so far, respond to simple instructions etc etc. Every single time she has these assessments she scores full points for her incapabilities. To give you an idea of how limited she is - she cannot remember a simple step by step guide, she does not understand money and cannot do sums to any degree, she gets anxious about going into public alone for fear of getting lost or falling over, she cannot read well or spell words. Her doctor agrees that her cognitive ability is that of a 6 year old and not to mention her severe depression which limits her in other ways.

Physically she has issues with imbalance caused by migraines and a damaged inside ear which causes her to become dizzy and fall over ALOT, even walking across a room. Some days it is worse than others, some days she will not fall. Constantly falling has caused her to have a damaged knee and arthritis across her body.

This time around, she scored 0 points, for anything. When the report came back it said that because she was able to go about simple daily tasks such as making a drink, running a bath and getting the bus to familiar places such as Asda which is 5 minutes away etc .. as well as physically being able to at least move an empty box, walk up and down two stairs unaided, get herself dressed and undressed, she was able to score no points and as placed onto JSA.

I helped my grandmother appeal against this decision for my mother as even going to the Job Centre for a meeting caused her so much distress that she was doing things like punching herself in the head, having anger rages, breaking things and ripping up important documents of my Grandmother's out of stress. Just today a letter was received to say the the reconsideration was rejected and my mother will have to keep looking for job. So far she has had no luck. She has no work experience, does not know how to get to new places alone and panics when feeling lost. She cant use a computer and can't even fill in job applications because she is unsure how to spell or what some of it even means (e.g didnt know what a surname was). She has been given some volunteering application forms from the job centre but so far has been rejected from 7 due to ill spelling, or lack of references (family have no friends and know no one who works).

My grandmother and I are feeling very stuck on what to do and how to help my mother who is in alot of distress and is being forced to find work that she is in no way capable of, she said this herself too. The only things in our minds that we imagine she would be capable of is dish washing. Any help of where to go or who to speak to would be really great. Im only 19 and my grandmother is 73 and we have no ideas.

pmlindyloo

She needs to appeal the decision.

Has she got reports from her doctor/other medical professional/social worker?

I suggest that either you or your grandmother take your mum to CAB who will help you complete the appeal You need to take any letters/reports from doctor/medical professionals etc with you.

As regards the Job Centre if her doctor will give her a fit note then she can be excused job seeking activities.

As soon as the appeal goes through then your mum can go back onto the assessment rate of ESA (she will need fit notes during this time)

I also suggest that your grandmother applies to be your mother's appointee as regarding her benefits. (Google for more information) Has your grandmother got lasting power of attorney for your mum? Either you or your grandmother should investigate getting this for your mum NOW.

Alice_Holt

pmlindyloo wrote: »

She needs to appeal the decision.

I suggest that either you or your grandmother take your mum to CAB who will help you complete the appeal
.

Go to the CAB, and see if you can get a referral to a caseworker. The sooner you go the better as appeals have time limits, and you may have to wait for an appointment. Take the DWP paperwork with you.

Here is some useful info about appeals:
http://www.advicenow.org.uk/guides/turned-down-dla-aa-or-pip-or-think-youre-not-getting-enough

(It is about PIP, but the appeal proccess is virtually the same for Esa)

This tells you about the ESa criteria:
http://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/employment-and-support-allowance/start-the-esa-test

You can also get ESa if your health would be put at risk through a return to work, this could well apply to your mum.

Some more info here:
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/employment-and-support-allowance/while-youre-getting-esa/challenging-an-esa-decision/

Get the CAB to help with the appeal.
If they haven't got a the resources to help you through the appeal process, then do persue it yourself with the aid of these guides, as the assessment is obviously wrong. You can take it to a tribunal who will be much more thorough than the assessment.

Is your mum getting DLA or PIP? If not get some help from the CAB to apply for PIP.

Let us know if you need further info.

Good luck.

Alice_Holt

This is from CPAG (who publish detailed benefit manuals for the CAB, etc), so it is rather complicated but gives you info on getting ESa on the basis of risk to health (claimants and others)
http://www.cpag.org.uk/content/making-exception

I believe this could apply to your mum, so it is worth asking the tribunal to consider Section 29 and 35 in your appeal. The CAB should be able to explain this to you and your mum..

Alice_Holt

This is the form to appeal to the Tribunal Service:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/181311/SSCS1.pdf

I'm sure the CAB will suggest that your mum ticks the box to attend in person (with you and/or your grandmother). If the tribunal can see and talk to your mum, they are more likely to come to the right decision.

You need to attach a copy of the mandatory reconsideration notice to the form. Again the CAB will be able to help your mum with this form.

JadeLouise

Hello all, thank you so much for your replies.

My grandmother is my mothers appointee however she understands none of what is written in the letters and frankly being a 19 year old university student, neither do I but I researched what I could up until this point.

It seems the next step is to get to the CAB as soon as possible with all of the relevant information and letters? It was our concern that she would have to pay for the next step of tribunal, or would she get help or funding for that cost as neither my mother or my grandmother have a penny of savings, my grandmother gets state pension.

Thank you again, I hope the CAB will let us know everything we need to on top of the links you have provided.

Alice_Holt

There is no fee or costs involved in appealing the DWP decision to the Tribunal Service.

Is your mum's GP supportive? And is he/she aware of the day-to-day difficulties your mum experiences?
It is really helpful to have medical evidence for the appeal. Would your mum's GP write a letter confirming that she can't reliably and repeatedly perform some of the Esa activities (see below) and/or that her mental health would be at significant risk if found fit for work?
It is possible the surgery may charge for the GP's letter - but this would be the only cost in going to tribunal.

Again, raise this with the CAB and see if they can write / help you write to your mum's GP.
Are their any other Health Care Professionals you could get evidence from?

I would think your mum might have difficulties with the following ESa activities:
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/employment-and-support-allowance/help-with-your-esa-claim/fill-in-form/11-learning-tasks/

Awareness of hazards-

This activity is about how your mental health or cognitive impairment affects your awareness of hazards or danger. Think about:

whether you understand the risks in everyday tasks like boiling water and using sharp objects
whether you can stay safe sometimes, but sometimes have accidents - think about why they happen, such as if you've cut yourself on a sharp object, or burned yourself in the kitchen or with an iron
whether you know how to avoid danger, for example you don't worry about traffic or crossing roads
if you've ever fallen or injured yourself in the street (think about how it affected you afterwards) - such as you hurt yourself and now avoid certain streets

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/employment-and-support-allowance/help-with-your-esa-claim/fill-in-form/14-coping-with-changes/

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/employment-and-support-allowance/help-with-your-esa-claim/fill-in-form/15-going-out/

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/employment-and-support-allowance/help-with-your-esa-claim/fill-in-form/16-social-situations/

Alice_Holt

By the way your Opening Post is very clear and informative.
The description of the difficulties your mum is having with JSa could help a tribunal decide that she is at significant risk.
Indeed your post could form the basis of a submission to the tribunal!

More info about tribunal submissions here:

http://www.advicenow.org.uk/guides/turned-down-dla-aa-or-pip-or-think-youre-not-getting-enough

"If you (or someone who is helping you) are good with writing, you should think about writing a statement. These can be very useful as they set out all your points, which means that you don't have to remember everything to say on the day. They also give the panel time to think about what you’ve said and why you should be getting more, before they meet you."

crossstitchamy

When i was on ESA and my medical came through it come through with 0 points. I soon phoned up and complained and got 6 points. Due to the fact that the woman examiner said that i DID show some signs of anxiety when i was there. And in my report she said the opposite and said that there was no one with me to help me which there was , my father.
I suggest you go to your local CAB .

bspm

Did she supply any information from Doctors or Consultants to back up her claim for benefits?

Alice_Holt

Broadly, the steps needed are:

1) Go through the ESa activities and points (these will be listed on the DWP paperwork or use CAB adviceguide for a fuller explanation) and identify where your mum scores the necessary 15 points.
Remember she can also qualify for ESA if her health is at risk by being assesed as fit for work.

2) Complete the form to appeal to the tribunal service (the SSCS 1 form) within 1 month of the date of the mandatory reconsideration notice. List and explain the activities your mum can't do. State her health is at risk.

3) Keep notes / a diary of how she struggles with these activities. Your can take this to the CAB, and more importantly to the tribunal so you have examples to tell the panel about.

4) Get medical evidence to support that your mum can't do these activities reliably, safely and repeatedly.

5) Write a letter (submission) to the Tribunal Service (at least 2 weeks before the hearing date) explaining what activities your mum can't do reliably. Enclose any medical evidence you have.

The CAB should be able to help you through these steps.

The job of the tribunal is to listen to you and your mum, assess the evidence, and then decide if the DWP made the right decision. They will (gently) ask your mum about her day-to-day life - it is not an inquisition, They will be thorough, because they have to be sure the right decision (in law) is made.

The DWP is often wrong. CAB have about 80%+ success rate with tribunals. It is not uncommon for clients with 0 ESa points to be put into the ESa support group at tribunal!

In my opinion your mum has been treated very unjustly by the DWP. You can put this right by taking their flawed decision to appeal.