ESA appeal process

ceegee

Please could someone advise about the process for an appeal tribunal? I have filled out an SSCS1 which I got from the CAB, and my gp has today agreed to write a supporting letter, as have my talking therapies team. When I have the two letters I shall send them off with the SSC1 form.

On the SSC1 form, CAB advised me to just put words to the effect that I do not feel that full consideration has been given to my mental health issues and that for this reason I wish to appeal the decision of the MR. Is this adequate for now, or do I have to go into more detail? Or do the details have to wait until the tribunal is underway?

Will I be asked for more details prior to the tribunal? CAB said that I would receive a "bundle" once the court has received my SSC1. Will this contain a form on which I can put more detail? I am anxious about not providing enough detail before the tribunal itself as I don't want to run the risk of them just throwing out my appeal without me having the chance to refute the inaccuracies and omissions in the WCA report.

Sorry to have rambled, but I must get it right. I am running out of strength in this fight. There is so much more that I could say, but I would be here until next week if I was to write it all down now. So if anyone could answer my questions above I would be most grateful for the help. I am applying under reg 29. I was awarded 9 points for "dealing with people".

Thank you for reading.

poppy12345

ceegee wrote: »

Please could someone advise about the process for an appeal tribunal? I have filled out an SSCS1 which I got from the CAB, and my gp has today agreed to write a supporting letter, as have my talking therapies team. When I have the two letters I shall send them off with the SSC1 form.

On the SSC1 form, CAB advised me to just put words to the effect that I do not feel that full consideration has been given to my mental health issues and that for this reason I wish to appeal the decision of the MR. Is this adequate for now, or do I have to go into more detail? Or do the details have to wait until the tribunal is underway?

Will I be asked for more details prior to the tribunal? CAB said that I would receive a "bundle" once the court has received my SSC1. Will this contain a form on which I can put more detail? I am anxious about not providing enough detail before the tribunal itself as I don't want to run the risk of them just throwing out my appeal without me having the chance to refute the inaccuracies and omissions in the WCA report.

Sorry to have rambled, but I must get it right. I am running out of strength in this fight. There is so much more that I could say, but I would be here until next week if I was to write it all down now. So if anyone could answer my questions above I would be most grateful for the help. I am applying under reg 29. I was awarded 9 points for "dealing with people".

Thank you for reading.

Reg 29 is WRAG are you sure it's this and not REG 35 for Support Group? If you applied for ESA after April 2017 there will be no extra money for the WRAG.

Others will probably come along and advice further but my thoughts are you need to put in a letter why you think that reg applies to you. Give as much detail as possible. You don't have to send all the extra evidence in with the SSCS1 form because you can send that at a later date. As long as the extra evidence arrives at the Tribunal by at least 1 week before the hearing it's fine. Your priority right now is to send that SSCS1 form and make sure you attach the MR decision letter to it, otherwise they will refuse you.

There will most likely be a huge backlog so expect a very long wait. I've heard that lots of people are waiting for 35 weeks and more.

Yes the Tribunal will send you the "bundle" this will contain everything that you sent the DWP. The DWP will contest it as always but it's standard procedure, don't worry about that. Appearing in person will give you the best chance of a decision in your favour. Good luck.

ceegee

poppy12345 wrote: »

Reg 29 is WRAG are you sure it's this and not REG 35 for Support Group? If you applied for ESA after April 2017 there will be no extra money for the WRAG.
.

Thank you, poppy12345. I have reduced your post to save space...hope you don't mind.
I certainly will do a "covering letter" to send off with the SSC1, then I will know that they have as much detail as possible.

I fear everything. I fear that if I send the form straight away without gp's letter, then I will be called in quickly and won't have the supporting evidence. I fear that if I wait for the gp letter, then I'll miss the deadline. I have to sort this in my mind.

The MR refers to reg 29. I thought I had regs 29 and 35 sorted, but having seen the quoted bit of your post, now I am panicking again. I wish to apply for support group based on substantial risk to mental health if found not to have LCW. Is that not reg 29 or have I plunged into a mess of confusion? I find it very hard to absorb stuff now.

PS Presumably I send my fit note in with the SSC1?

poppy12345

ceegee wrote: »

Thank you, poppy12345. I have reduced your post to save space...hope you don't mind.
I certainly will do a "covering letter" to send off with the SSC1, then I will know that they have as much detail as possible.

I fear everything. I fear that if I send the form straight away without gp's letter, then I will be called in quickly and won't have the supporting evidence. I fear that if I wait for the gp letter, then I'll miss the deadline. I have to sort this in my mind.

The MR refers to reg 29. I thought I had regs 29 and 35 sorted, but having seen the quoted bit of your post, now I am panicking again. I wish to apply for support group based on substantial risk to mental health if found not to have LCW. Is that not reg 29 or have I plunged into a mess of confusion? I find it very hard to absorb stuff now.

PS Presumably I send my fit note in with the SSC1?

Reg 35 here. https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/news/2955-regulation-35-2-b-is-now-the-main-route-into-esa-support-group

As i said the backlogs are huge and the chances of a date very quickly are slim. You will have plenty of time to send in all your extra evidence before the date of the hearing.

A fit note is not needed for the Tribunal. If you wish to go back onto assessment rate for ESA while you wait for the hearing then you'll need to send a fit note to DWP. You can go back onto assessment rate once your Tribunal has been accepted and you have a reference number.

poppy12345

http://dls.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Appealing-ESA-decisions-large-print.pdf

https://www.turn2us.org.uk/Benefit-guides/Challenging-an-Employment-and-Support-Allowance-de/Appeal-against-the-decision

ceegee

poppy12345 wrote: »

http://dls.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Appealing-ESA-decisions-large-print.pdf

https://www.turn2us.org.uk/Benefit-guides/Challenging-an-Employment-and-Support-Allowance-de/Appeal-against-the-decision

Thank you again. I am beginning to see the way forward now, thanks to your kind help.

The first link here refers to a form GL24, but I cannot fathom what this is or where it fits in. Would a letter detailing my reasons for appeal be a satisfactory substitute?

ceegee

I think I've got it....sorry! The GL24 is for older appeals and doesn't apply to my appeal.

Thank you so much for your help, poppy, it has helped a huge amount.

poppy12345

No problem. Good luck!!

Alice_Holt

OP - Couple of points further to the excellent info supplied by poppy:
Briefly S29 is where there would be a risk to your health (or others) if found fit for work. You are then placed in the WRAG group.
S35 is when there is a risk to your health if you had to participate in the Work Focused Activities of the WRAG group. You are then placed in the Support Group. This could be due to severe anxiety / agoraphobia, etc

I would tend to put more info on the SSCS1 form - describe you health problems, and relate these to the ESA descriptors to show where you score the necessary points / or S29/S35.
However, the SSCS1 is mainly to get your appeal lodged with the TS - so make sure you are within the timescales.

The SSCS1 will form part of the evidence bundle along with your ESA50 form, and the medical assessment. It's when you receive this bundle that the real work begins. Will the CAB be helping you write a submission to the TS showing why you should have been awarded the benefit?

In addition to poppy's links, this is very helpful on how to write a submission and prepare for the hearing. It's about PIP but the process is the same:
https://www.advicenow.org.uk/guides/how-win-pip-appeal

This is a useful site:
https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/employment-and-support-allowance/esa-appeals

When your appeal is lodged, you can ask for ESA payments to resume: http://www.cpag.org.uk/content/benefit-during-employment-and-support-allowance-dispute