ESA SUPPORT GROUP REVIEW

[Eightiesgirl]

My dh was awarded ESA support group for MH issues in 2019. During lock down he got a letter saying it had been reviewed and was granted again, without him having to fill in any forms etc Yesterday I phoned them about something and the advisor mentioned he would be having a review this July. She mentioned the form and a possible interview. We've recently had a pip review, which he was granted at standard rate, so the thoughts of this ESA review has sent him into meltdown. He was with the early intervention service for psychosis for three years and is now under the care of the community mental health team. I'm his full time carer and he is on anti psychotic meds and antidepressants. He has been diagnosed with Psychosis, GAD and depression. Will the fact he has been granted PIP make any difference to the ESA review and does anyone know what his chances are of being granted support group ESA again. I realise he has been lucky not to have been reviewed until now but he is extremely worried ESA will be stopped and I just wanted to be able to give him some reassurance.

No PIP and ESA are different benefits and neither really has a bearing on the other although some people may tell you otherwise. Sometimes when i am helping my clients with a PIP review form I will make a note that they have recently been put in support group but I'm not sure how much weight it really holds as people who claim PIP can work, many work full time and some people who can't work and are in the support group of ESA will not meet the criteria for PIP. For example someone undergoing chemotherapy would automatically be put in the support group but may not be disabled enough to qualify for PIP. I would think if your dh is having ongoing intervention form mental health services he would likely qualify again for support group. I would try to make sure you have up to date medical evidence - reports/ letters etc from his mental health team, anything showing he is having ongoing support and send those with the ESA 50 review form. Good luck.

Reviews of ESA awards were suspended due to the pandemic and have not restarted. Only new applications and changes of circumstance are being processed. All awards are open-ended with no end date, though there may be a recommendation of a date for review and this is what the person you spoke to would have seen.

Having a PIP award probably doesn't make a lot of difference to an ESA award generally because they are different benefits looking at different things, and being in receipt of PIP doesn't demonstrate that you can't work. But I wouldn't worry about any ESA review at the minute to be honest. My ESA hasn't been reviewed since 2013 or 2014, but I'm not expecting a review form this year because of the huge backlogs in dealing with new claims.

And just to add, I think support group seems to be awarded more easily now than a few years ago ( just my personal observation), so I would not have thought your dh would have any problem. I am quite surprised at how easily some of my clients are awarded it .

@Babyroobs I was hoping you'd reply as you have given me such good advice previously. Thanks, I will make sure he has an up to date care plan from the community mental health team and make sure I have a copy of his prescription etc I think it's the thought of him having to have a face to face interview, although they did say they could do this via video although we only have phones so I don't know how that would work?

Try to make sure you write on the form that a face to face interview would make him very anxious. Since lockdown I have not known any of my clients have a face to face , it has all been done on a phone call. With enough medical evidence they can make a paper based decision. I would say with the severity of your dh's problems I would not worry. If he does need a phone call assessment, then just explain that you may need to speak for him. I think there is a section on the ESA50 form where you can say if an assesment is going to be difficult x

@flourella thanks for that information. I phoned them about something else entirely and it was while I was on the phone that I casually asked when he was due a review and the advisor said it was down for July 2023. She said there was a backlog but to expect a form through the door around that time. None of his circumstances have changed so I don't know what's prompted the review.

If he's this nervous about a face to face interview, how could he ever attend job search interviews or a job interview, let alone attend and excel at the job? Surely this is what matters the most.

I've been doing a pip review and I was turned down when I first applied for said pip which I ended up getting after doing a mandatory reconsideration.

I'm posting because when I looked at the reasons I was awarded, the pip person actually wrote that they'd had a good look at my ESA support group award report to back up some information on my condition.

So they can and sometimes do look.
Whether ESA assessors look at pip awards I don't know.

I will be mentioning my ESA in my pip review.

@Babyroobs thank you again for that extra information. It would be great if I can speak on his behalf on the phone. It's very reassuring for him to learn that there is a section on the form that I can explain this to them. I completed the original form in 2019, but he was newly diagnosed and our lives were completely turned upside down, it's all a bit of a blur and I can't remember what the form was like. I know when I was applying for pip on his behalf, you said he should be awarded it and he was, so here's hoping you are correct again about ESA x

@Eightiesgirl a change in circumstances is something the claimant (or their appointee) has to report, and the ball is set in motion straight away, so this review in July won't be that.

The DWP suspended reviews and have not restarted them. There probably is a date of July given for your husband's review, but I wouldn't expect it to happen, because even if they do start back up by then, they now have around three year's worth of reviews which have not been undertaken and I would think they'd go through those first. Even if they don't, there is no indication that they will be doing reviews any time soon.

It's perfectly possible that the person who spoke to you doesn't really know much. The people who answer the phone are call centre staff and I get the impression from other benefits forums that they are renowned for their lack of in-depth knowledge. Certainly any issues I've had with my ESA claim (when I had to tell them about an inheritance, for example) I've had to be put through to someone else or given a call back by someone who can actually deal with (or even understand!) what I'm explaining to or asking of them.

@BrilliantUsername thanks for the reply, yes, that is what I am hoping too. There is no way he could hold down a job or even attend an interview. We are at the stage where the community mental health team have arranged for someone to take him out for a walk for an hour a week to give me a break. He'd be a total wreck if he had to go to the job centre. I honestly think he would attempt suicide again. The pip application just about finished him off and now the thought of an ESA review is terrifying to him.

@flourella thank you. It would be marvellous if the dreaded form doesn't actually arrive in July. He was granted support group in November 2019, then he had a letter from them during lock down saying it had been reviewed without him filling in another form etc for another year. This took him to November 2022 but we never heard another thing from them. I phoned on Friday about something else entirely, no change of circumstances or anything like that and after holding on for nearly an hour, decided to ask if and when his claim would be up for review again. That was when I was told its this July and he's hardly slept since.

They have recently restarted face to face reviews for ESA & UC. It sounds like he's on regular reviews (if his last was in lockdown) as they do that when they believe your condition may change one way or another within that time period (either worsen or recover).
What will happen first, is that you'll get a form asking what (if anything) has changed and asking for the his medical evidence again. They will then let you know when they want to see him, but an important point I want to make here, is that you can request a home assessment if you don't feel he could cope with the journey or the environment etc. Sounds like this may be appropriate for him

They have restarted them. First week of February it began

@SchoolTripDrama really? I periodically check for press releases etc and have done quite recently, but there have been none that I have found. Do you work in this area, and/or can you provide a link?

@Eightiesgirl sorry if it turns out I have given you old information; I had no idea they had been restarted and still now can't find anything online to confirm this. It's totally unreasonable if the DWP have got reviews back up and running without letting all claimants know with a public announcement.

@Batcountry8 thank you and so pleased that you got awarded pip eventually. I can imagine it was a very stressful time for you.

@SchoolTripDrama thanks for that information. Perhaps he is being reviewed because they think he might have improved? I'm hoping I have enough medical evidence and the back up of the community mental health team to convince them he is still unwell. At least I have time to prepare for the review, get all evidence and document together and prepare my dh for the possibility of it. Forewarned is forearmed as they say!

@flourella please don't worry about it, it's so confusing, that's why I posted on here as I've had fantastic advice in the past. If they have started reviews again, then at least I'm forewarned and have time to "get my ducks in a row" as they say on mumsnet!

That's not true about lack of crossover between the Work Capability Assessment and PIP.

My job is to rep at benefit tribunals. It's a tactic we often use in an appeal - it's an easy win for us. For example - 11d with PIP is identical to 15c of the WCA. Both are about not being able to manage an unfamiliar journey without being accompanied. There are various others for both the physical and mental health descriptors.

OP I would suggest finding out how he got awarded support group status. Then going from there. What has changed (as in improved or deteriorated)? From the limited information you have provided I suspect he was awarded SG status because being subject to work requirements/ work related activity would pose a 'substantial risk' to his health. I would also look at what he was awarded for PIP - as in descriptors and cross reference those with the work capability assessment descriptors. You'd be looking at activity 9 (engaging) and activity 11 (planning and following journeys). These are helpful with activity 15 and 16 of the WCA. Likewise if he has points for prompting for any of the daily living activities for PIP - these are helpful to argue activity 13 of the WCA. These are all things to highlight in the ESA50 form. I would add a supplementary sheet on to it highlighting the issues he would face if asked to complete work requirements or WRA.

@morningstar15 thank you for the reply. Yes, I think he was awarded Support Group originally mainly because it would have been dangerous to him and, more importantly, others if he'd been placed in a work environment. He'd worked as a teacher for many years but basically suddenly got it into his head that he was being monitored by the government via tv, mobile phones, computers and even the house alarm sensors. He developed strange mannerisms and thought people were after him and were going to kidnap and imprison him. He thought members of the public he saw talking on their phones were talking about him. This resulted in him trying to burn the house down with us in it and then attempting to kill himself with a knife and nearly killing me in the process, as I tried to wrestle it from him. He's since tried to jump off a multi storey car park and throw himself onto train tracks. My role in his life now is simply his full time carer. I accompany him everywhere and I organise his whole life for him. He just lies on the settee in silence all day. He also has disturbing thoughts about my death and that strangers are going to harm him, which he has received extensive counselling for. He's now about to start PTSD counselling via the CMH but there is a waiting list. He is definitely not fit to rejoin the work place just yet. I don't mind if this is outing, everyone who matters in our lives knows the full situation and I just wanted to be totally open with everyone on here, as you've all given wonderful advice and taken the time and trouble to reply to me. I honestly feel like writing on the form that I will not be held responsible if he's made to go to work and he ends up hurting either himself or someone else. I know this all sounds very dramatic but, sadly, it's the reality of our everyday lives now.

Reviews have not restarted for ESA, I have a family member that works there, they are not likely to restart until next year at the earliest. There are people from 2012 still waiting for an ESA review so not likely a recent claim is going to be reviewed before others waiting longer. My neighbours last assessment was in 2014 and she hasn't been sent an ESA50 form yet, so again unlikely anyone from 2018 onwards is gonna get reviewed any time soon. Same applies for UC, there is misinformation regarding reviews starting up, it's only new claims and change of circs that get them.

@Eightiesgirl reviews haven't restarted, there is lots of misinformation about this, so some people think they've started back up.

@Kerrybemmy thank you. If that is correct then it is such a relief to us. I'm just perplexed as to why the telephone advisor at ESA would tell me dhs ESA is listed for review in July 2023?

Are reviews for ESA totally different from when you have to re apply.
Like an award is given for say 2 yrs, runs out then you're invited to fill in a new Esa50?

I only knew of ESA work related activity group awards with end date.

Have now been in support group after major incident for a few years. I don't think my award is a long term one, despite my illness being long term.
I think it was for 24 months, so will that be it, have to start over or will there be a review because it's support group.

Sorry to hop on your thread op.
Thanks for the comment about pip.

Yes all very stressful.

I hope that your DH doesn't have a review. It does sound though that you have alot of evidence to support him tho.