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Appeal won, but are DWP confused?

SwanseaJosh

Hello all, this is my first time on the forum! And I'm going to dive straight in and ask a few Q's...

This is regarding my mum, who receives ESA and PIP. But this is relating to her ESA.

She was/is in the support group, being basically house bound, on oxygen and suffering from a number of debilitating illnesses.
Last February, due to illness, we missed her 'Fit for work' assessment, having contacted them to inform them of the illness, they sanctioned her. (she was receiving higher rate esa)

it has taken until April this year to get to a tribunal, after they decided to cancel the one for last June.

Long story short, the judge overturned the DWPs decision, and said that mum DID have good cause to not attend her assessment.

only today (03/08/2018), after a battle to actually get the DWP to reinstate the money owed and then regular payments, we found that they were only going to be paying the basic rate prior to assessment of 73.10 PW from the date she was sanctioned.

Am I correct in believing that, as the judge has set aside this decision, that she returns to her situation before she was sanctioned, and should receive the full amount backdated, until reassessed?

thank you

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SwanseaJosh

I tend to waffle on... ive read this and the Q i want to ask is...

My mum has been reinstated her ESA, but it is only being back dated at a sum of £73.10 per week, as opposed to what she was originally on, before she was sanctioned.

should she be back dated the original amount and then stay on that amount until she is reassessed?

poppy123456

No, i read it as she was found fit for work for failing to attend. The Tribunal have accepted her reasons for failing to attend and she now needs to have an assessment, in the meantime she's paid assessment rate for ESA because she was found fit for work, which means she'll need fit notes from her GP. The Tribunal did not place her in a group. This is how i read it, i could be wrong but i don't think i am. Others will comment and i'm sure someone with more knowledge than me will reply soon. Good luck.

SwanseaJosh

Thank you for your reply! i can understand where you are coming from totally.

my understanding was -
missed appointment due to illness
-sanctioned until tribunal
-tribunal find good cause for not attending the assessment through illness
(as she was in the support group, i thought she would revert back to the support groups benefit until fit notes provided, and until a new assessment date had been issued)

poppy123456

No because she was found fit for work and her ESA was stopped. The Tribunal didn't place her in a group, they only accepted her reasons for failing to attend. It means she can go back onto assessment rate for ESA. If shes placed into a group after her assessment then her money will be backdated to when she was found fit for work. (the extra money, for either of the groups that is) She's providing fit notes yes?

SwanseaJosh

poppy123456 said:

No because she was found fit for work and her ESA was stopped. The Tribunal didn't place her in a group, they only accepted her reasons for failing to attend. It means she can go back onto assessment rate for ESA. If shes placed into a group after her assessment then her money will be backdated to when she was found fit for work. (the extra money, for either of the groups that is) She's providing fit notes yes?

yes, she was initially found fit for work, and removed from the support group.

the tribunal only found that she had good cause for not attending the assessment due to illness

the DWP have said they will back date payment from February 2017 to June 2018 at a rate of 73.10, as fit notes have been provided to cover these time frames.

the DWP have said they will complete the back dated payment sometime next week.

will she only receive the £73.10 per week as a back dated lump, or will she be entitled to more once she has been further assessed?

thanks again

poppy123456

Yes, exactly as i thought. She was found fit for work, so removed from the Support Group. She will need to continue to send those fit notes until a decision's been made after her assessment. If she's placed into either of the groups she'll receive back dated money which will be the difference between £73.10 per week and which ever group she's placed into. This will be backdated to the date she was found fit for work. If the decision is fit for work then her money will stop.

poppy123456

Back dated lump sum will be £73.10 per week, which is assessment rate.

SwanseaJosh

thats great, thank you so much for clearing this up!

so is she to continue sending fit notes until her assessment date?

poppy123456

What PIP award does she have and does she live alone or classed as living alone. Does anyone claim Carers Allowance for looking after her?

SwanseaJosh

poppy123456 said:

What PIP award does she have and does she live alone or classed as living alone. Does anyone claim Carers Allowance for looking after her?

she is on higher rate for both PIP components, my brother lives with her as her carer and he claims the carers allowance, he is 22

poppy123456

She will get Enhanced disability premium on top of her ESA and this is £16.40 extra per week on top of her ESA and it will be backdated to when she was found fir for work. Severe disability premium she isn't eligible for that because she lives with your brother, who claims Carers Allowance for looking after her. Good luck to your mum for her assessment.

SwanseaJosh

poppy123456 said:

She will get Enhanced disability premium on top of her ESA and this is £16.40 extra per week on top of her ESA and it will be backdated to when she was found fir for work. Severe disability premium she isn't eligible for that because she lives with your brother, who claims Carers Allowance for looking after her. Good luck to your mum for her assessment.

thank you so much for all this valuable advice!

will i need to notify the DWP if she is found to remain in the support group to make sure she recieves the rest of what she is entitled to?

poppy123456

You're welcome. No you won't need to tell them if she's placed into the Support Group because if she is then the decision will come from them, so they'll already know. She's needs to be assessed first, whether that's paper assessment or face 2 face assessment and for this, evidence will be needed to support her claim. If it's a face 2 face assessment then she will need to attend, otherwise she could be found fit for work again.

SwanseaJosh

once again, thank you so much, youve been a great help

poppy123456

No problem at all!