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lanielemon1987 said: Thank you for you response @Tibik Any help just so that I can double check all is correct. One of my biggest stuggles is asking for, so any help is greatly appreciated 😊For me its; Starting and finishing tasks Coping with social situations May I please ask, are you neurodivergent and are there other disabilities as well?
This question is about whether you can plan, organise and complete at least 2 routine tasks, one after the other.
The DWP isn't asking about your physical problems in this question. They want to know whether you have a mental health condition that affects your ability to start and finish routine tasks.
"Can you manage to plan, start and finish daily tasks?"
Routine tasks are things including:
Think about whether you could complete 2 of these tasks, one after the other, for example before you leave the house to go to an appointment.
For example, imagine you're making a cup of tea and the phone rings. Would you be able to stop making the tea, answer the phone and then finish making the tea after the phone call?
Think about whether you'd be able to do these and other routine tasks repeatedly during the same day.
It's important you tell the DWP more by explaining your situation in the box.
It's important to explain whether:
your condition makes you lack energy or you get tired
you have good days and bad days
Subhi says: "I have bipolar disorder, and often find it hard to do simple things like pay my telephone bill. I spend all of my money on the wrong things, so I often can't pay for the things I really have to - and it gets me in trouble.
"I sometimes think about paying my bill, and even get my credit card details ready, but I just never do it as I've spent all my money on something else. I paid it really late and got fined last month, as by the time I'd got enough money together, it was overdue."
16 (a) Engagement in social contact is always precluded due to difficulty relating to others or significant distress experienced by the claimant. (15 points)
(b) Engagement in social contact with someone unfamiliar to the claimant is always precluded due to difficulty relating to others or significant distress experienced by the claimant. (9 Points)
(c) Engagement in social contact with someone unfamiliar to the claimant is not possible for the majority of the time due to difficulty relating to others or significant distress experienced by the claimant. (6 points)
Ok, this is me, "majority" means "4 days out of 7 in the week" or other relative timing.
Remember- (this is from me again)... talk about safe and repeatable. If you forget you've left a chip pan on the cooker... if you leave food out and forget to refrigerate it... and talk about how much it takes out of you trying to do everything. NOw I will go to the next one.THis one is from: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/employment-and-support-allowance/help-with-your-esa-claim/fill-in-form-esa/16-social-situations/
This question is about how you cope with meeting and speaking to people.
It's about whether you have difficulties relating to people, or if meeting and speaking to people causes you significant distress.
The reason you have difficulties could be because:
The DWP is trying to understand:
"Can you meet people you know without feeling too anxious or scared?"
This could be anyone you've met before like your doctor, your neighbours or friends. It doesn't just mean people you're close to.
Don't feel embarrassed if you have to tick "no", for example if:
"Can you meet people you don't know without feeling too anxious or scared?"
This could be someone like a cashier in a shop, a person in the bus queue, or a neighbour you've never met. Consider how you'd feel if you needed to deal with the public in a job, for example in a shop or a hotel.
You might need to tick "no" if:
You might need to tick 'it varies' if bumping into people you didn't expect to see makes you anxious or scared, but you're okay when you plan to meet them.
If this is the case then explain what happens and how it makes you feel in the box.
Use the blank box to explain how you feel about spending time with other people. For example:
Keisha says: "I can't make eye contact and talk to my friends - they're people that I used to see all the time. It's impossible for me to leave the house because I don't have any confidence and wouldn't be able to deal with it, even if I had a few weeks to prepare for it. I wouldn't be able to cope if my GP left and I got a new doctor - my pulse would race and I'd have a panic attack."
(b) Engagement in social contact with someone unfamiliar to the claimant is always precluded due to difficulty relating to others or significant distress experienced by the claimant. (9 points)
Tibik said: Message me privately if that's easier.
Call: 0808 800 3333
Email: helpline@scope.org.uk
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Tibik said: Message me privately if that's easier.The scope team do not support members contacting each other for benefits advice. This is because if someone gives incorrect advice then no one can correct that advice. It's always advised that if advice is needed that members ask on the forum.
poppy123456 said: I'd just like to point out that you don't need medical evidence, many people are found to have LCWRA without medical evidence. Most MR decisions remain the same. If it gets to Tribunal then they will apply to law correctly. With all respect, you only have half the stick there... no, you don't *need* medical evidence, however, with any kind of medical evidence- even an appointment letter or referral- the information is treated as "confirmed" and this can make a big difference especially if you'd like to get things done sooner rather than later. The difference in scoring between someone who says they have a problem and it is unconfirmed and someone with exactly the same reported problem but with confirmation can be substantial. Assessors are trained to apply the *lowest possible score* unless there is evidence to increase it. YOu said "Most MR decisions remain the same". That's not accurate. According to the citation which will follow this, "In the month to January 2023, 57% of the ESA-WCA decisions going to MR were revised" https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/esa-outcomes-of-work-capability-assessments-including-mandatory-reconsiderations-and-appeals-march-2023/esa-outcomes-of-work-capability-assessments-including-mandatory-reconsiderations-and-appeals-march-2023 - The best way, in my experience, to get MR to go your way is to add evidence and to take care in whatever experience you serve up their terms, words, and parameters (within the truth of course). As you said, examples are good but you need to be careful how they are framed because they can be used against you as well. Something as simple as "I get that pain every couple of days" instead of "I get that pain several days a week" can cost points. The first one says 3 days a week, and the second one says more than 3. That's why it can really help to have another person read what you have written and give feedback on how it sounds. I remember one lady said "I take a 5 minute trip to the shop" and she said the shop was "across the road". The assessor actually looked up her address and found the shop, then measured the distance. If the lady could make that journey walking in 5 minutes she was not mobility impaired. So she lost her points for mobility. Well, of course she meant "a quick" trip, not specifically 5 minutes, and across the road meant "near by". But it made her sound like she was not accurate in her assessment of her needs and abilities so she was marked down. ff the assessor is not taking that you have depression seriously and so scored you low (as an example) but then you prove you are known to the crisis team, or go to therapy, etc, then they must reassess their previous score. One really good example of this is incontinence. If a person claims to be incontinent, the assessor will ask how often they are seen by the continence team. If they say they are not seen by the continence team *the guidance as I received it said that it was not correct to score them for having incontinence". Please trust me that sending evidence to back up anything you say is to your benefit. GPs are required to send in their assessments but they are notoriously sketchy and more than half aren't even filled out. One solution to this is get a copy of your GP "front sheet" (which will be several pages) which confirms all active diagnoses and problems. So although you don't *need* evidence, if you have it or can get it, it is most certainly in your favour to provide it. And, more than half of MR where someone is assessed as someone impaired but not LCWRA are overturned on MR. It's not the law that is applied differently, it's DWP Policy. At MR they still must follow all the policy and assessments, including the scoring done based on descriptors. However, at Tribunal, they are *not* beholden to the policies, guidance, etc, and do not have to adhere to the very strict evidence required for each descriptors. They are able to make a much more reasonable view of the big picture. As I said in my "hello", I was trained to do ESA assessments and was qualified to do so by the DWP. I only went to that job, which was 6 months of hell, so I could learn how the assessments worked so I could help people who weren't getting what they should.
poppy123456 said: I'd just like to point out that you don't need medical evidence, many people are found to have LCWRA without medical evidence. Most MR decisions remain the same. If it gets to Tribunal then they will apply to law correctly.
Alex_Scope said: Hello @Tibik it seems there's been some crossed wires here, as I've mentioned, you are more than welcome to message other members to chat and support each other- that's what this community is about As you say this is a very compassionate thing to do, and shows you're a caring person, so thank you for explaining that. As Poppy had earlier mentioned her own concern over the sharing of misadvice, I wanted to explain this section within our house rules for everyone's reference, but that was not to imply that you have or were intending to breech the rules. I apologise for any confusion or upset caused.
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