esa appeal rates and premiums

Hi jollytommy

Good to hear from you.

In answer to your question, that will depend upon your circumstance.

You can't get any ESA at all until your appeal has been received and accepted by the Tribunal Service. In other words, the whole time you take to have a Mandatory Reconsideration done - a necessary step before you can appeal -  you won't get any ESA.

Then,once your appeal is accepted, and if you send in, or the DWP has already got, an up-to-date fit note, you would carry on getting your personal allowance (eg £73.10 for a single person over 25, £114.85 per week for a couple), plus any premiums (there are three for ESA, severe disability, enhanced disability and carer premium). You also get the amount for housing costs, be it rent or mortgage interest by way of the SMI loan, that you had before. 

I hope that answers your question. Let me know if you need to ask some more.

Best wishes 

Gill_Scope
Benefits and Finance Information Specilaist
Scope Helpline

Hi jollytommy

Yes, get the fit note as soon as you can. The DWP will then pay from the date your appeal is accepted.

You can get alternative benefit now,  a short-term JSA claim (only available in non-full-service-universal credit areas - see www.entitledto.co.uk) won't harm your ESA appeal, but be careful about claiming universal credit at this point - once you claim that, you can't come back off it and back onto ESA, even if you win your appeal. 

Best wishes

Gill_Scope