Backdating On LCWRA

Passerby

I understand perfectly well that "the extra money is paid from the 14th week of my claim." But having reported change in my circumstances in terms of health and submitted my claim in Jan. 2016 and have been sending in fit notes since, it's almost impossible for me to imagine the DWP backdating support component all the way back to 2016!

poppy123456

The advice that was given was based on the information you gave. There's no further advice to give, other than to continue to go round in circles.

Nothing more you can do anyway until a decision's been made on the WCA.

Passerby

No need to go round in circles, I'll just wait and see what they say.

Thank you.

Passerby

Hi,

Under the new DWP Severe Conditions Guidance, on 29 September 2017, the DWP announced that ESA claimants in the support group and universal credit claimants with limited capability for work and work-related activity (LCWRA) will no longer need to be reassessed if they meet all four of the following criteria and that claimants will be told whether they will not be reassessed following their WCA:

1. the level of function will always meet LCWRA criteria;
2. the condition will always be present (some lifelong conditions are present from birth, but others will develop or be acquired later in life);
3. no realistic prospect of recovery of function (with advice on this being based on currently available treatment and not on the prospect of scientists discovering a cure in the future);
4. unambiguous condition (following all relevant clinical investigations a recognised medical diagnosis has been made).

In case a claimant meets these criteria, do you know whether the HCPs write this within the report they send to the DWP, which can be requested later on by the claimant, or do they write this in a separate report that's only available to the DWP and not to the claimant?

From your experience, is the claimant informed of this as is stipulated in the guidance of the DWP? We all know the DWP doesn't always do what it says, neither does it as it says?

If I want to ask for the report written about me with regard to WCA, I've to ask it to the DWP and not the Health Assessment Advisory Service. Am I right?

Thank you.

poppy123456

The report is a recommendation only. If no further reassessments are needed it should advise this in the report. I've only ever heard of 2 people being placed into this group.

For a copy of the report you need to ring ESA but do be aware that they don't always agree to send it until the decision's been made.

Passerby

No, I'm not going to bother calling them until a decision has been made on my claim.

Thank you for your time.

Passerby

As you know, ESA based on National Insurance Contribution stops after 365 days, unless one is in the support group. Right!

Guess what - I've been getting it for the past 6 years and three months. Not only was I not called for a WCA during all those years, but also, I was let to get ESA NICB all those years - and now that they're making a decision on my claim, I bet they're asking themselves how on earth this was possible and to which point in time to backdate my ESA. Time will tell!

poppy123456

Passerby said:

As you know, ESA based on National Insurance Contribution stops after 365 days, unless one is in the support group. Right!

Your ESA will be Income Related, which isn't time limited to 1 year. Only Contributions based/New style ESA is time limited to 1 year unless in the Support Group.

Passerby said:

Guess what - I've been getting it for the past 6 years and three months. Not only was I not called for a WCA during all those years, but also, I was let to get ESA NICB all those years

Yes indeed because when claiming a benefit such as this, your NI credits are also paid as well as receiving money each fortnight. NI credits do not stop after 1 year.

Passerby

Passerby

But until now I've been on Contributions based ESA, which is limited to 365 days, and not on Income Related ESA! This is clearly written in the papers they sent to me.

calcotti

Passerby said:

But until now I've been on Contributions based ESA, which is limited to 365 days, and not on Income Related ESA! 

Not sure what point you are trying to add here. As you yourself said earlier, not if you are in the Support Group. Given that, if I've understood it correctly, you've never been assessed your ESA should have switched to income based after 12 months but as it looks as if they've made a complete mess of your claim I don't think there's much point in looking for reason in the situation.

poppy123456

Passerby said:

But until now I've been on Contributions based ESA, which is limited to 365 days, and not on Income Related ESA! This is clearly written in the papers they sent to me.

ESA letters are extremely difficult to understand and confuse a lot of people. Were you working at all in the 2 years prior to claiming ESA? They could have also assessed you for Income Related once the year had ended.

Passerby

Calcotti,

I'm not looking for reason in my situation, neither am I asking you for something; I'm just sharing the anomaly in my claim.

Passerby

poppy123456,

No, I was not working at all the two years prior to claiming ESA.

poppy123456

Then your ESA was very likely never contributions based. Which then brings me back to this..

poppy123456 said:

Passerby said:

But until now I've been on Contributions based ESA, which is limited to 365 days, and not on Income Related ESA! This is clearly written in the papers they sent to me.

ESA letters are extremely difficult to understand and confuse a lot of people.

Passerby

All their letters show that I've been on Contribution Based ESA. This might be due to the fact that I always worked and earned well prior to getting ill and that I might have paid enough National Insurance contributions to warrant this!

poppy123456

You said this..

Passerby said:

poppy123456,

No, I was not working at all the two years prior to claiming ESA.

then this..

Passerby said:

I always worked and earned well prior to getting ill and that I might have paid enough National Insurance contributions to warrant this!

What counts is the 2 tax years prior to your claim starting.

calcotti

It is only NI contributions in the two tax years prior to the Benefit year in which you claim that matter. What happened before is not relevant.

Passerby

Got it.

Thanks again.

Passerby

Self-deleted.