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I .have to attend a esa support group compliance interview

I .have to attend a esa support group compliance interview, phoned the office they said its a review about circumstances and take bank statement id.Ive been on esa support group for 4years and never been asked to do this before. I'm also on high rate P.I.P please advise
Replies
Disability Gamechanger - 2019
I'm so sorry to hear this. Are you appealing the decision?
Do you have any other people around you who could be there for you in the meantime? I'm afraid I'm not sure how to advise on finding the right care, but I'm tagging in @Jean_Scope in the hope she can offer some guidance here!
Thanks to @Pippa_Scope for inviting me to join this conversation.
Just to be clear I am an Occupational Therapist not a benefit specialist, so please do pursue getting benefits advice from the CAB.
Some compliance meetings can happen due to 'random sampling' as mentioned by @angiefitz but they can also occur because the DWP believes that there is something suspicious about a persons claim that they want to investigate. In this instance it sounds as it they feel that you and your ex are still effectively living as a couple and that therefore he should financially support you rather than you being in receipt of means-tested benefits.
It is possible for two people who have formerly been in a relationship to live together under the same roof and be recognized as single people with their own benefit claims but the DWP will need to be convinced of this in each case. They normally want to see evidence of people living socially and financially independently of each other. Which is presumably the content of your appeal.
If a carer has their own separate home and just attends the disabled persons home to provide care it is normally a lot easier to establish that they are no longer living as a couple.
Lets hope that your appeal will be successful. However, if your ex-partner moves out and is no longer willing to provide your care and you don't have anyone else to step into his role, then you will have to contact the Adult Social Care Department at your local authority and ask them to conduct an Assessment of your Care Needs. If they agree that you have care needs they can arrange care or direct payments for you to buy in your own carers.
I note what you are saying about having bills to pay and no money to pay them. The CAB may be able to arrange Debt Advice for you or you could contact Step Change: https://www.stepchange.org Until you start getting some money coming in again you might also want to check out it you can get any support from your nearest Foodbank: https://www.trusselltrust.org/get-help/find-a-foodbank/
Please do ensure that your GP and any other professionals who support you know how you are feeling at this time and consider reaching out to voluntary sector sources of emotional support, such as: https://www.samaritans.org/
I hope you are able to resolve the issues with your benefits soon,
Best Wishes
Jean
Jean Merrilees BSc MRCOT
You can read more of my posts at: https://community.scope.org.uk/categories/ask-an-occupational-therapist
Hi @jan119 The advice above is good, I would just add that the first stage of challenging a decision is to request a mandatory reconsideration. You can do this on the phone, by letter or by completing a DWP form - a link to that form is here if you wanted it: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/683380/if-you-disagree-with-a-decision-made-by-dwp.PDF
You cannot appeal until the mandatory reconsideration is completed and you have the written notice of this. You have 1 month from the date of decision to request the mandatory reconsideration. All the best with it and I hope you are able to get some specialist support with this.
And I go to see his mother whom I'm very good friends with.... to add to this my son who is also disabled lives next door to me I often help him by nipping not door and make him get a wash or prepare dinner for us ( possibly a sandwich ) just to make sure he eats) he suffers manic depression these are just some of the reasons...
I've also tried to contact well fare advice to be told no help available my direct debits have started to come out my bank leaving me overdrawn I suffer from c.o.p.d and asthma dengererative bone diese also depression axeity and fibro and have prepayment metres I cannot afford to top up ive asked for help from c.a.b last week but still waiting for a call back
Thanks for the update.
So reading between that lines I would assume that the DWP are saying that because you are sometimes well enough to feed yourself and to assist your son they consider that you are not disabled enough to justify needing a live-in carer. Therefore, they question the motivation for why your ex continues to live with you.
Also that they are questioning that you and your ex are not financially independent, i.e. he gives you money towards the fuel in the car, since the mobility car should only be used by you (as driver or passenger) it will be difficult for them to see why a person who is purely a carer would be paying towards your fuel expenses. He should not be driving the car unless you are in it and he is assisting you in getting where you need to go, he should not be using it for his own purposes.
Also with food costs their expectations is normally that people not in a relationship but sharing a house demonstrate how separated they are by having separate food budgets (evidenced by receipts etc, separate food cupboards, items in the fridge labelled with the individuals name). A person contributing towards your food budget, implies that the relationship isn't a formal carer/client relationship but that you are living more communally as a shared household and that he is financially supporting you by assisting with your food costs.
Harsh I know, but these are the sort of assumptions that you are going to have to counteract as part of your mandatory reconsideration.
Do keep trying to pursue this with CAB
Best Wishes.
Jean
Jean Merrilees BSc MRCOT
You can read more of my posts at: https://community.scope.org.uk/categories/ask-an-occupational-therapist