Assessment period

4 months after being thrown off ESA condition “anxiety and depression” claims ESA again on 3 July 13 for incontinence. Has WCA February 14 and is thrown off again. Appeals after unsuccessful MR. Successful appeal last month, placed in support group from 1st March. Throughout period was on assessment rate. Regs seem to state that the assessment rate continues unto tribunal decision. I have researched regs but cannot decide whether client is entitled to support group addition from 13 weeks after 3 July or as the regulation seems to state from the date of the tribunal decision. Anyone come across this before.
There is a similar provision in PIP, whereby the DWP is protected from large awards after delay in dealing with the claim. In effect the date of entitlement runs from when the claim is decided not the date of claim.

Generally speaking when a tribunal allows an appeal, it sets aside the original decision and replaces it with the decision that should have been made. Everything should be re-calculated as though the DWP had originally decided the case in the way the tribunal did. It’s a review of the original decision rather than a new decision event and the date on which it occurred isn’t important.

For your client it sounds like he successfully appealed a decision made on 1 March 2014 finding him fit for work. If this was his first assessment on that claim, then that would mean support component (and probably EDP from the sounds of it) was payable from 13 weeks after the start of his claim, even if that means he is due over 2 years of back-pay.

I think the PIP provisions you refer to are the special rules for dealing with DLA-PIP transfers - even in these cases, entitlement is calculated based on the date of the DWP decision, not the tribunal decision.

Thanks Elliot