Work capability assessment decision is puzzling me

Stoical65iam

Hello everyone . I was given a limited capability for work and work related activities decision after a UC Assessment i attended in February this year . But i don't understand if i`m in LCWRA or LCW group or a  support group of some kind .The UC staff don`t really make it clear. I don't need to hand in anymore fit/sick notes. Sorry for rabbiting on but i heard if your in the LCWRA you may get some financial support. Thankyou, appreciate any feedback.

poppy123456

HI,

You're in LCWRA and should be receiving an extra £336 per month in your UC payments, which is paid from the 4th month of your claim starting from when you sent in your first fit note. Check to see what elements of UC you're receiving.

Stoical65iam

Thankyou for response poppy

 i'll try to find out more info'

Stoical65iam

UC pay my rent, is this a factor here ? But i receive no additional money to my UC.

poppy123456

Your rent is a different element. You should be receiving the standard allowance as well as the LCWRA element on top.

poppy123456

I see your other thread about ESA Tribunal and the decision for that was LCW. Are you sure the decision for your work capability assessment for UC was LCWRA and not LCW? when was the decision made on the work capability assessment?

Stoical65iam

Thankyou for your assistance poppy. The date the decision was made was 26th Feb' 2019. The message reads like so , hopefully this helps   " Following your work cabability assessment we've decided that you have limited capability for work." However it also states " This means you won't have to look for work, but you'll need to meet with your work coach to take steps to prepare for work in the future. We call these WORK-RELATED ACTIVITIES ".

Government_needs_reform

You come under LCW, and not LCWRA. LCW does not include any further money.

poppy123456

Yes, that's limited capability for work (LCW) but because you were claiming ESA previously and your claim started before April 2017 then you should receive the extra LCW amount each month, which is £126.11 extra and not £336 like i advised above.

Stoical65iam

Thankyou for clearing it up guys. Still as i'm not receiving￡126.11 extra either, or 2 pence extra for that matter, i'm beginning to believe someone at the DWP is having a laugh at my expense ( shock horror ! ). I suppose i better contact UC asap (probably better contacting Batman instead ) to see if he can shed anymore light on this. Why don't they (DWP) just show some common courtesy for once, and keep us all informed as to what's really going on, and stop being so damned ambiguous !

poppy123456

The reason is most likely because your ESA Tribunal decision hasn't been sent across to UC. If this isn't done then your UC claim will be regarded as a new claim and not linked to your ESA claim. You need to ask a case manager from UC to send the MPG1 form to ESA.

Even though you didn't have LCW when you claimed UC the Tribunal revised that decision and you were given LCW this means that you should definitely receive the extra £126 per month. All of which is stated here in this link.

http://www.cpag.org.uk/content/esa-uc

Scroll down to what if migration to UC happens.

Stoical65iam

Thankyou ever so much poppy i'll look into this hopefully with a positive outcome .Sorry to sound like lieutenant Columbo but just one more thing. I'm i due some back pay ?  Thankyou.

poppy123456

No problem. Yes, they will owe you money backdated from the date you were found fit for work for ESA.

Stoical65iam

Thanks again .
 

Adrian_Scope

Hello @Stoical65iam and good morning.
Good luck speaking to Universal Credit today, I hope you get a quick resolution to this. 

Stoical65iam

Thanks for your support Adrian, and good morning to you too. I actually left a message 2 days ago now for my work coach at UC regarding this. Still waiting for a reply. 

poppy123456

Most of the time it's pointless putting messages on your journal. Best thing to do is to speak to a case manager and ask them to send the MPG1 form to ESA for your Tribunal decision.

Stoical65iam

Thanks once again for the help poppy . Sorry to appear ignorant, but who would be my case manager if not my work coach ?

poppy123456

No problem. Everyone has a case manager and they are different to a work coach. If you ring UC and ask to speak to one or for someone to ring you back.

Stoical65iam

Well thanks yet again poppy, i'll ring them tomorrow as i believe they're now closed. Hopefully they're as helpful as you've been. Anyway have a lovely evening at least, as i can't buy you a pint to go with your cape.

Adrian_Scope

Hi @Stoical65iam. Sadly it does seem that messages on the journal often go unanswered and it is a bit hit and miss. They open at 8am tomorrow and you're more likely to get through quickly the earlier you call. 
They use a call routing system, so if they're available, it should be your actual case manager you get put through to. Good luck and I hope they sort this quickly for you.

poppy123456

@Stoical65iam you're welcome. Hope you finally get it all sorted.

Welshlad90

Hi I attended my lcwa review yesterday I gave them copies of letters showing I'm in receipt of pip and also showing that I'm still under a physcatrist. Does anyone know if they take all this into consideration when making a decision on if I'll still receive lcw

poppy123456

Welshlad90 said:

Hi I attended my lcwa review yesterday I gave them copies of letters showing I'm in receipt of pip and also showing that I'm still under a physcatrist. Does anyone know if they take all this into consideration when making a decision on if I'll still receive lcw

PIP and ESA are different benefits with different criteria, whether they use the PIP award as evidence will totally depend on where you scored those points.

Wait a week and ring DWP to request a copy of the assessment report. This will give you some idea what the decision is likely to be because they mostly go with the report. Good luck.

Welshlad90

poppy123456 said:

Welshlad90 said:

Hi I attended my lcwa review yesterday I gave them copies of letters showing I'm in receipt of pip and also showing that I'm still under a physcatrist. Does anyone know if they take all this into consideration when making a decision on if I'll still receive lcw

PIP and ESA are different benefits with different criteria, whether they use the PIP award as evidence will totally depend on where you scored those points.

Wait a week and ring DWP to request a copy of the assessment report. This will give you some idea what the decision is likely to be because they mostly go with the report. Good luck.

I get standard rate for daily living and standard rate mobility as I'm unable to follow a unfamiliar journey on my own. I been getting lcw since last year and my condition hasnt changed I've shown that I am under a physcatrist in fact shown them that I have a physcatrist appointment on monday coming so I'm hoping that I dont have to go through hell or fire for them to pass me as still unfit for work

Welshlad90

I scored points for my pip on needing prompting to either prepare or cook simple meal

Needs supervision or prompting to be able to wash or bath

Needs prompting to to dress and prompting to select appropriate clothing.

Surely they should take this all into consideration

Welshlad90

Oh and also prompting to be able to engage with other people

poppy123456

Welshlad90 said:

I scored points for my pip on needing prompting to either prepare or cook simple meal

Needs supervision or prompting to be able to wash or bath

Needs prompting to to dress and prompting to select appropriate clothing.

Surely they should take this all into consideration

Sadly none of those relate to any of the descriptors for either of the ESA groups.

Welshlad90

What so having to be prompted to communicate with people due to it causing distress doesnt class it? Surely because I suffer with violent outbursts I will be classed as being a risk to myself or other people if found as being fit for work

Welshlad90

Even on my pip appeal decision it states I'm severely limited so being that it's called limited capability for work they should take this into consideration

poppy123456

Welshlad90 said:

What so having to be prompted to communicate with people due to it causing distress doesnt class it? Surely because I suffer with violent outbursts I will be classed as being a risk to myself or other people if found as being fit for work

That will most likely be either reg 29 for LCW or reg 35 for LCWRA which are both substantial risk.

PIP isn't about being able to work and does have different criteria to the work capability assessment. As advised, wait a week and request the report because at this stage it's impossible to guess what the outcome will be.

Welshlad90

But as also stated in my assessment I suffer from paranoia at night from the smallest of noises I get suicidal thoughts which gets me to the point as where I wouldn't be bothered of the consequences of jumping off a bridge or in front of a train even had these thoughts on my last assessment which I passed so couldn't see why they will say yeah your fit for work 

Welshlad90

It feels like however much evidence you provide your still classed as having no limitation 

Welshlad90

What points is the lcw decided on then as I've been looking online for the questions and points for it but have found nothing 

poppy123456

LCW (WRAG) here https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/employment-and-support-allowance/esa-glossary/1354-work-related-activity-group-descriptors

LCWRA (Support Group) here https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/employment-and-support-allowance/esa-glossary/1353-support-group-descriptors

reg 29 wrag and reg 35 support group explained here. https://cpag.org.uk/welfare-rights/resources/article/making-exception

Lots of people are successfully placed into one of the groups without any problems at all but we rarely hear the good stories. The assessment report will give you some idea what the decision is likely to be because they mostly go with the recommendations in there.

Welshlad90

Am I right in believing the assessment gets emailed to the dwp for them to then decide? How long does a decision roughly take?

Adrian_Scope

Hi @Welshlad90, unfortunately there's no timescale for decisions, they can take pretty much as long as they like. If you leave it a week, you can call and request a copy of your assessment report which will give you an idea of what has been recommended. The decision maker usually goes with this report. Best of luck!

Welshlad90

Adrian_Scope said:

Hi @Welshlad90, unfortunately there's no timescale for decisions, they can take pretty much as long as they like. If you leave it a week, you can call and request a copy of your assessment report which will give you an idea of what has been recommended. The decision maker usually goes with this report. Best of luck!

Will they send a copy of the report to my online journal as I'm on the live service now. Have they got to give you a copy if requested or can they decline giving you a copy until a decision is made? 

poppy123456

They will send you a paper copy in the post and not on your journal. It has been known for them to refuse to send it before a decision's been made, especially if you live in N. Ireland.

Welshlad90

poppy123456 said:

They will send you a paper copy in the post and not on your journal. It has been known for them to refuse to send it before a decision's been made, especially if you live in N. Ireland.

Well I'm hoping they will allow me a copy so I will have some sort of idea then. As having to wait for weeks to find out puts a strain on my mental health. Is it true that male healthcare professionals are less sympathetic?

poppy123456

The wait is extremely stressful for everyone. I've had male and female HCP's and i've yet to have a bad one.

Welshlad90

poppy123456 said:

The wait is extremely stressful for everyone. I've had male and female HCP's and i've yet to have a bad one.

With the report do the assessor usually email it to the dwp or post it to them?

poppy123456

There's 2 copies that need to be returned, 1 is digital and the other is a paper copy. They won't send a copy out to you until both copies have been received and this can take at least 1 week. Longer if the report is chosen for audit which can sometimes happen.

Welshlad90

So if they say received the digital copy today can they make a decision off that or do they need both copies first?

poppy123456

They need both copies i'm afraid.

Welshlad90

poppy123456 said:

The wait is extremely stressful for everyone. I've had male and female HCP's and i've yet to have a bad one.

Thanks poppy for all your advice, rang UC this morning and they have said that based on all the information the health assessor has decided that I'm entitled to lcw. Got told that the DM will now just have to admin the decision onto my claim so that it's a continuation. Will not need a review now for 18 months.

poppy123456

Have you had the decision on your journal? I don't understand why you were told the health assessor has decided because it's not up to them to decide. The only person that can make that decision is the decision maker. Once the decision is made the letter will be uploaded onto your journal.

If your claim started after April 2017 then LCW doesn't entitle you to receive any extra money each month. Only those that are given LCWRA will receive the extra £336 per month.

Welshlad90

Lwcra is what I'm on 

Welshlad90

I think they said thay the health assessor has recommended that I'm entitled to lwcra

Welshlad90

And that they have recommended I dont have another review for 18 months 

Welshlad90

I get just over £328 a month extra on my uc

Welshlad90

poppy123456 said:

Have you had the decision on your journal? I don't understand why you were told the health assessor has decided because it's not up to them to decide. The only person that can make that decision is the decision maker. Once the decision is made the letter will be uploaded onto your journal.

If your claim started after April 2017 then LCW doesn't entitle you to receive any extra money each month. Only those that are given LCWRA will receive the extra £336 per month.

Dont the assessor make a recommendation though and 99% the DM goes with that decision 

poppy123456

Yes that's correct but you still need to wait for the decision.

Welshlad90

poppy123456 said:

Yes that's correct but you still need to wait for the decision.

Yes I know, I think what they had meant is the health assessor has recommended that I am entitled to lwcra, that I have to wait for the DM to add this onto my claim so that it will be a continuation and then my next review will be in 18 months time. Thing I was thinking though I thought they only do reviews every 1, 2 or 3 years. Would they do a review after 18 months?

poppy123456

The timescale is just a guide and nothing more. You can be re-assessed anytime from 3 months. Some are assessed after 6 months, 12 months, 18 months and so on.