Assessment

geosme

Just received letter for phone assessment 18.12.20 for ESA .I claimed UC in March 20.of my own valition  .there's nothing in my UC journal.i phoned  assessment RATS and told them I don't claim ESA .Told them to get it sorted with DWP as I don't want to HEAR from them again .had two tribunals in the past and won so I know the script. Just in case my question is .I believe the law is that you cannot lose sickness payment part of benefit without a face to face assessment . If this is correct. I can't find it anywhere. Can anyone help George.. 

poppy123456

Hi,

Are you sure it doesn't just say "work capability assessment" rather than ESA? The work capability assessment for ESA and UC are exactly the same process.

If it definitely says ESA then before you applied for UC did you fill out and return a work capability assessment form? If you did then this is very likely what it's for.

To answer your question, you can NOT be found fit for work without a face to face assessment, unless you fail to attend your assessment, even though it's telephone assessments only at the moment, this rule still applies.

Hope this helps.

geosme

YES it is a WCP. The last form I sent to them was June 2019.heard nothing from them until now .BUT got cancer again in my other leg had ops November 19 then Feb 20 .in Feb for numerous reasons including I knew coronavirus would screw the DWP .I claimed UC .the letter states ESA 3 times. THANKYOU. Do you know where I can find the statement about face to face assessment I can't find it IN legislation for ESA OR UC.THANKS 

poppy123456

I'm sorry to hear about your diagnosis and wish you well regarding that!!

I had a feeling you may have received the work capability assessment form sometime before you claimed UC. Backlogs happen all the time and Covid has considerably increased the length of those.

It doesn't specifically state face to face assessments, what it states is "attend" a medical assessment. As telephone assessments have replaced face to face ones, if you don't answer the phone for the medical assessment then the rules will be the same. Find it here in the CPAG link. Scroll down to "failure to provide medical information" https://cpag.org.uk/welfare-rights/resources/article/work-capability-assessment

I'm not sure what would happen here if you didn't answer the phone.

I'm going to tag a memeber of our admin team who maybe able to help you further, although you may not get a reply until tomorrow. @Adrian_Scope could you help here please? Thanks in advance.

Although if you're receiving treatment for cancer then this should automatically give you LCWRA.

geosme

I'm not on ESA and they have been told .when you receive a letter for WCA on UC it's in your journal  .it's not  .I cannot have a WCA for a benefit I don't claim. This is not a mistake maximus have not been told my ESA claim is closed. It was income based which makes it totally different to new ESA and UC.A Note in my journal states I no longer claim ESA . I'm on LCWRA .UC all relevant medical evidence from Feb given to UC .not ESA .THANKYOU for your help. if Adrian has some info great.have a good night 

poppy123456

Just incase anyone reads this, the work capability assessment is the same process for ESA/New style ESA and UC. LCWRA for UC is the same as Support Group for ESA.

geosme

I agree ..the way you are informed on UC.is different to legacy benefits

Adrian_Scope

Thanks for the tag @poppy123456!

Hello @geosme. I hope you don’t mind if I ask a few questions I just want to ensure I’m understanding the timeline correctly. 

Were you previously on ESA? We’re you ever put in a group on ESA? 

At what point in your UC claim did you start to receive LCWRA? 

While most things for UC are done via journal the letter for a work capability assessment appointment is still sent by post as the assessment company don’t have access to your UC journal or account. 

geosme

I' was in support group esa have been since 2012. Had 2 tribunals and won .last cancer op Feb 2020 .due to many things claimed UC .march 2020.sent by link all medical evidence had a third of my right foot removed.so received UC.LCWRA IMMEDIATELY. The letter I received states it's a rescheduled appt for WCA from July 2019 For ESA.ESA Mentioned 3 times in letter. Last Esa50 June 2019 .that is now irrelevant obviously. YES I'm worried they are after me again I'm 64

geosme

As I'm on UC surely to be assessed I would have a UC50

poppy123456

The reason you were given LCWRA when you claimed UC is because this was carried accross from your ESA Support Group award, which was honoured in UC. It wasn't awarded because of the evidence you sent.

The ESA50 and the UC50 are both exactly the same forms and the whole process is the same.

geosme

So I'm screwed 7 days before Xmas lovely. What's the time lag for decisions now any idea

poppy123456

I'd advise you to wait for Adrian to get back to you, i can only imagine that he's busy today but he will reply again when he has a minute.

Decision timescales, there isn't any.

Adrian_Scope

Sorry for the slow reply @geosme. As Poppy mentioned, the reason you would have been awarded LCWRA immediately on UC without a wait period is because your ESA Support Group status would have transitioned to UC. 
If you were a dual claimant (claiming ESA and UC), UC should take the lead on re-assessments etc, but it's not uncommon for letters to still have ESA written on them.
While you are no longer claiming ESA, because the re-assessment process was already started by them before you claimed UC, it's likely they've continued with this and decision made would also apply to your UC. It does seem a long time to wait for an assessment but it's not unheard of. 

When you say "all relevant medical evidence from Feb given to UC" what medical evidence do you mean? Did you ever complete a UC50 for UC? 

With regard to your question about not answering the phone, failing to attend and failing to participate in assessments (including telephone assessments) without good reason can result in you being found fit for work. 

geosme

No not had uc50.2nd cancer ops Feb esa never knew only sent that evidence to Uc  .I don't see why I should answer phone for a benefit I no longer claim. I phoned assessment centre told them I don't claim ESA anymore. Never told them ANYTHING ELSE and was not asked they said they would speak to DWP that was it  .when an assessment letter is sent to uc claimants there is always a note in journal that's definite citizens advice stated that.

poppy123456

Thanks @Adrian_Scope for the help, i had an idea that my thoughts were correct but had to make sure first because i didn't want to give the wrong advice.

@geosme Although you no longer claim the ESA, the assessment process is identical to the UC work capability assessment. All they've done is basically changed the name of the form slightly to the UC50 work capability assessment form. The ESA one is ESA50 work capability assessment form.

An assessment letter for UC would definitely not be on your journal and i'm unsure why your local CAB have advised you this. The assessment process itself, is nothing to do with DWP/UC, it's the health assessment advisory service that deal with the work capability assessments and it's them that send the letters as in paper form. https://www.chdauk.co.uk/

Unfortunately, you will need to complete the assessment but if it was me then i'd ring them to ask if you can send further evidence and if you're continuing to receive cancer treatment then this automatically qualifies for LCWRA/Support Group.

Adrian_Scope

Hi @geosme, just a thought it may be worth you trying to ask UC if they've referred you for an assessment. If they haven't, you could ask them to confirm (in writing on your journal) that you do not need to attend. 
Have you spoken to UC about it at all?