ESA Reassessment

Jay_1987

Hi there,

I received a form from ESA to complete and send back by the 26th of December. I have been receiving ESA for around 7 years and am in the work related activity group. I think it is called a reassessment form? I sent it back in the middle of December but have not heard anything again from ESA. I was wondering what is likely to happen now? Will I be called in to meet a medical professional to discuss staying on ESA? How long after I send the form back am I likely to hear? I know this is all dependant but wondered if anyone has had a reassessment recently and could advise what is likely to happen next and when?

thankyou.

poppy12345

You maybe asked to attend a work capability assessment. This would either be by telephone or face to face at an assessment centre. Paper based assessments are possible but fairly rare.

There's no timescales how long you maybe waiting. Some wait weeks and others wait several months. If an assessment is needed then you will be contacted.

Robbie64

I'm in the same position and am also in the WRAG. I got my ESA50 the second week in December and the form had to be returned by 4 Janaury. The DWP received the form on 28 December (I phoned the Health Advisory Assessment Service to make sure it had been received). It's been almost 5 years since I was last assessed (March 2019) as COVID and backlogs meant that the Work Capability Assessment review date was pushed back from September 2020 to September 2022 to September 2024. I wasn't quite expecting the ESA50 form to land just before Christmas as a result but I'm assuming that the DWP are concentrating on reviewing people in the WRAG at present.

I'm not expecting to be assessed on a paper review but if it did happen will I receive a letter from HAAS to inform me that my file has been returned back to the DWP? Or do I just get left in limbo never knowing whether it has been done?

poppy12345

Robbie64 said:

 I'm assuming that the DWP are concentrating on reviewing people in the WRAG at present.

Yes, it seems like they are reviewing those in the WRAG/LCW at the moment. I've heard of quite a few people receiving forms.

Robbie64 said:

will I receive a letter from HAAS to inform me that my file has been returned back to the DWP?

No, you will not receive any confirmation that a report or file has been returned. If a paper based assessment is completed, you won't know until you receive the decision letter.

Robbie64

poppy12345 said:

Robbie64 said:

 I'm assuming that the DWP are concentrating on reviewing people in the WRAG at present.

Yes, it seems like they are reviewing those in the WRAG/LCW at the moment. I've heard of quite a few people receiving forms.

Robbie64 said:

will I receive a letter from HAAS to inform me that my file has been returned back to the DWP?

No, you will not receive any confirmation that a report or file has been returned. If a paper based assessment is completed, you won't know until you receive the decision letter.

A decision letter is good. I wasn't sure if anything would be sent if a decison to keep someone in the WRAG was made. In the past there have been threads here which indicated that the DWP had simply made the decision and not notified the person. This is one area where the use of texts to keep people informed at all stages of the review process would be useful.

Jay_1987

Robbie64 said:

poppy12345 said:

Robbie64 said:

 I'm assuming that the DWP are concentrating on reviewing people in the WRAG at present.

Yes, it seems like they are reviewing those in the WRAG/LCW at the moment. I've heard of quite a few people receiving forms.

Robbie64 said:

will I receive a letter from HAAS to inform me that my file has been returned back to the DWP?

No, you will not receive any confirmation that a report or file has been returned. If a paper based assessment is completed, you won't know until you receive the decision letter.

A decision letter is good. I wasn't sure if anything would be sent if a decison to keep someone in the WRAG was made. In the past there have been threads here which indicated that the DWP had simply made the decision and not notified the person. This is one area where the use of texts to keep people informed at all stages of the review process would be useful.

Have you heard anything yet? I still haven’t heard anything other than a letter from ESA to advise that benefit will be increasing from 13 April 2024.

Jay_1987

poppy12345 said:

You maybe asked to attend a work capability assessment. This would either be by telephone or face to face at an assessment centre. Paper based assessments are possible but fairly rare.

There's no timescales how long you maybe waiting. Some wait weeks and others wait several months. If an assessment is needed then you will be contacted.

If it was decided I would be staying on ESA would I get a decision letter or just hear nothing? I know if I am called in to a meeting I would get a letter to advise.

poppy12345

Jay_1987 said:

poppy12345 said:

You maybe asked to attend a work capability assessment. This would either be by telephone or face to face at an assessment centre. Paper based assessments are possible but fairly rare.

There's no timescales how long you maybe waiting. Some wait weeks and others wait several months. If an assessment is needed then you will be contacted.

If it was decided I would be staying on ESA would I get a decision letter or just hear nothing? I know if I am called in to a meeting I would get a letter to advise.

I would expect you to receive a decision letter. I do know of a couple of people that waited several months for an assessment for a review.

joebob

Is there plans to reassess  people in esa support group ? originally i was tod my reassessment would be july 2022 not heard anything at all.

poppy12345

joebob said:

Is there plans to reassess  people in esa support group ? originally i was tod my reassessment would be july 2022 not heard anything at all.

Support Group is an ongoing award until a new decision says otherwise. Timescales are only a guide. Reviews were suspended for a few years too and haven’t fully started back up yet for those in the Support group. 

Robbie64

Jay_1987 said:

Robbie64 said:

poppy12345 said:

Robbie64 said:

 I'm assuming that the DWP are concentrating on reviewing people in the WRAG at present.

Yes, it seems like they are reviewing those in the WRAG/LCW at the moment. I've heard of quite a few people receiving forms.

Robbie64 said:

will I receive a letter from HAAS to inform me that my file has been returned back to the DWP?

No, you will not receive any confirmation that a report or file has been returned. If a paper based assessment is completed, you won't know until you receive the decision letter.

A decision letter is good. I wasn't sure if anything would be sent if a decison to keep someone in the WRAG was made. In the past there have been threads here which indicated that the DWP had simply made the decision and not notified the person. This is one area where the use of texts to keep people informed at all stages of the review process would be useful.

Have you heard anything yet? I still haven’t heard anything other than a letter from ESA to advise that benefit will be increasing from 13 April 2024.

Good timing in asking if I've heard anything as I have just heard something!

I phoned HAAS (the people who do the assessments) on 13/03/24 and was informed that my file was with the medical team and that I should hear something about an appointment in the next two or three weeks. It sounded like the person who I was speaking to was reading from what he could see on a computer screen so it came... across... as... very... stop / start. I felt a bit uneasy about it, worrying that my phone call might have triggered an appointment letter being sent out. This uneasyness increased when I checked my GP medical records later that same day and saw that half an hour after I had phoned HAAS, a note had been entered on my GP record to say that a form had been received from "jobcentreplus". I was convinced that HAAS must have sent an ESA113 (a medical questionnaire that gets sent to GPs) by some electronic means. The following day the completed questionnaire, filled in by my GP, was uploaded to my medical record. It was an ESA113 but had been posted to my Doctors with a date on the form of 11 March 2024, two days before I phoned HAAS. It turned out to be nothing but a spooky coincidence. Of course an appointment letter may still be on its way...

Spooky too that you posted your question to me about an hour before I phoned HAAS and an hour and a half before the receipt of ESA113 form was noted on my GP record!