ESA without reassessment for many years

Zipz
Zipz Online Community Member Posts: 3,457 Championing
in Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)

I'm hearing about and reading an increasing number of posts from ESA claimants who have not been assessed for many years. This was true for me when I was on IR-ESA and has continued on CB-ESA.

Is this simply attributable to back-logs? Or are we assessed every three years in some back office using what data they hold without our knowing a thing about it? Alternatively, do "they" realise the some of us are totally unfit for work ŕelated activity and just (to borrow a phrase) "write us off"?

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Comments

  • 66Mustang
    66Mustang Online Community Member Posts: 15,210 Championing
    edited September 8

    I suppose looking at it from a utilitarian perspective, if they have the budget to assess a certain amount of people they have a higher chance of getting a "return on investment" by interrogating people who are on the borderline of able/unable, rather than those of us who are much more certainly "unable"

  • Passerby
    Passerby Online Community Member Posts: 875 Championing
    edited September 8

    I don't think it has to do with backlogs. To me, it has rather to do with an undisclosed policy. And the prove for this is that they said in the infamous Green Paper that they would restart reassessments from April 2026.

    Guess what - assessments are conducted by profit making private companies, who are paid in relation with the number of assessments they conduct. The more people they assess, the more money they make.

  • Andi66
    Andi66 Online Community Member Posts: 1,067 Championing

    I had my first assessment for esa In 2018 , took a year to go to the tribunal in 2019. Then last year had a esa 50 form last Jan, got wca esa assessment next week, month before I move to UC

  • Lauren29
    Lauren29 Online Community Member Posts: 145 Empowering

    I understand that there is a backlog and that the priority is to assess new claims. There isn't enough funding from DWP to allow for existing claimants to be reassessed. There is also a backlog of individuals who currently have limited capability for work who have reported a deterioration in their health and have asked to be re assessed.

  • Butterfliess
    Butterfliess Online Community Member Posts: 114 Contributor

    I haven’t been reassessed since my claim started. I have had several PIP reviews in that time though. Do you think it’s possible they use PIP review info to kind of decide who to reassess or is that just impossible?

  • Zipz
    Zipz Online Community Member Posts: 3,457 Championing
    https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1066321#Comment_1066321

    I've wondered that.

    If the PIP assessor made detailed remarks, justifying their advice to the DM it could be that the DWP use the information to guage a claimant's degree of disability and hence their likehood of returning to work.

    I have an ongoing (10 year) PIP award and before that I had a lifelong DLA award.

  • Passerby
    Passerby Online Community Member Posts: 875 Championing

    The fact that PIP is kept reassessed/reviewed religiously and not the WCA, even though both are assessed by the same private companies and PIP has even more claimants, proves once more that the pause of the WCA for most of people has more to do with policy and not lack of funding or backlogs.

    Ask yourself why PIP is kept reviewed and not the WCA, as both assessments are conducted by the same companies!

  • Butterfliess
    Butterfliess Online Community Member Posts: 114 Contributor

    Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. What policy’s keep them from reassessing the same as PIP?

    I’m guessing this could all change when they finally release information on this new “employment insurance “ in Autumn.

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