Housing Benefit with ESA help!

poppy123456

LCWRA is same as Support Group and no, it's not about scoring points for either of those. This is the highest group.

LCW is WRAG and for this you need 15 points.

Please take a look at the benefits and work link i posted above.

poppy123456

LCW descriptors are here and descriptor 9 is evacuation of bladder or bowel at least once per month. https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/universal-credit-uc/uc-faq/3903-limited-capability-for-work

poppy123456

PIPnewbie said:

@poppy123456 sorry I only just saw your link.

So LCWRA is the higher one and it’s still incontinence once per week, which is fine, because she is multiple times a week and that’s noted down on vast amounts of medical records.

Yes, i know which is what i've been trying to advise you but you kept saying it was once a month.

Either way, re-assessments can take place anytime from 3 months for either of the groups.

My advice right now is to concentrate on her new UC claim and making sure her ESA award is honoured in UC. Any problems come back for more help but for now, i can't give you anymore advice. Good luck with her UC claim and i hope it goes smoothly.

PIPnewbie

@poppy123456

So there’s a lower and higher LCW, lower is 9 points, higher is 15?

And Support Group/LCWRA are a different animal and nothing to do with points? What determines getting into this then?

She got her ESA like 11 years ago, so perhaps she’s forgotten a few things.  She’s never been reassessed once.

poppy123456

There's no lower or higher of LCW it's just LCW and it's 15 points for this group, not 9.

The links i posted above will tell you the criteria for both groups.

PIPnewbie

@poppy123456

Never mind I have read the second page on your link.

LCWRA isn’t about points, just meeting a single severe descriptor. Got it.

She meets that descriptor and has vast amounts of proof she does, so she is all good, no matter the reassessments they throw at her.

PIPnewbie

@poppy123456

She just added this as a journal entry as a message to her work coach on the UC website.  The same journal that told her she needed a fit note.

Hello, I am already under an ESA award of LCW and Support Group (LCWRA) and under Universal Credit Transitional Regulation 19 this must be honoured, so no fit note is needed.

Is this correct?

poppy123456

She needs to ask for the MGP1 to be sent across to ESA for her ESA award to be honoured in UC. Until this is done her award won't be honoured and she won't receive the LCWRA element. She can ask for this to be done when she has her first appointment.

PIPnewbie

@poppy123456

This will be done at the appointment, we just wanted to let them know we are aware and she will not be bringing a fit note, so not to get any funny ideas of tripping her up.

Chloe_Alumni

Thank you for your advice @poppy123456.

I really hope you get this sorted @PIPnewbie

Adrian_Scope

Hi @PIPnewbie, does she have a date booked in for her initial interview now? 

PIPnewbie

Thanks @Chloe_Scope

@Adrian_Scope, it is later today  

Chloe_Alumni

I hope it goes well @PIPnewbie!

PIPnewbie

@poppy123456 @Adrian_Scope @Chloe_Scope

hey guys it went really well thanks

the work coach was the one insistent on how she wouldn’t have to attend anything else, wouldn’t have to have regular meetings, and then laughed and said as your journal entry says the ESA will transition over

As far as the housing was concerned he didn’t see an issue.  He entered the details of the tenancy agreement and rent onto the system, and said everything has gone through.

I know it will probably pass through the eyes of somebody who authorises it and she is not out of the woods yet, but fingers crossed.

Chloe_Alumni

That's great news @PIPnewbie!! Thank you for letting us know! It's so good that the work coach was understanding.

PIPnewbie

He was a credit to his job @Chloe_Scope

a truly lovely bloke

poppy123456

Glad everything went ok. Yes, the rent element will pass to a decision maker to make the decision.

Adrian_Scope

Hi @PIPnewbie, thanks for updating us, I was wondering how you'd gotten on! It's great to read that the work coach was so good, it makes a huge difference. 

Was she offered an advance and was it explained how they work? 

PIPnewbie

@poppy123456 I will let you know the outcome. She should find out on the date the work coach said she will find out what she’s getting, which was a date 6 days before she gets paid?

@Adrian_Scope she did get offered an advance but she said with the cash in her purse and her last ESA tomorrow and her PIP next week will see her through.

Adrian_Scope

That's great @PIPnewbie, it's definitely better to get by without it if you can afford to. 

Just in response to your message to Poppy, yes her statement should appear on her online account 6 days before she's paid. It doesn't always show at the weekend or on bank holidays and be aware this is the earliest a statement can show, so if it isn't available on that date, don't panic!
If it isn't showing 2-3 days before the payment is due, it's best to give them a call to check nothing is blocking her payment (sometimes a simple thing like they haven't verified something or pressed a button to release the statement, but always worth checking).