lapsed ESA appeal?

Hello, can anyone help with this?  Just spoke to our BDC and was told that a client has (I think, they didn’t put it in those terms) a lapsed appeal.  She was turned down after a medical and appealed in April but they just sent the case back to ATOS who looked at the case on paper, revised but she is still disallowed - so maybe they gave her a few more points or something but still under 15.  Now they say she has appeal rights against the revised decision but (assessment phase) payment will not be reinstated even if makes that appeal.  Am really worried they will just do this with every case now to save on the payments whilst appeals are pending.

Morning Clara,

Unless there is a new outcome decision on entitlement to ESA (ie they have changed the initial supersession ending entitlement to ESA on the basis that the WCA was not met from x date onwards) then there is no revision and so no lapsing.

Simply changing the number of points awarded from some number less than 15 to a new larger number that is still less than 15 is not making a new decision- all it means is that the determinations underlying the decision to end entitlement have been altered- the decision itself remains in place.

Once you have found out exactly what has happened as per JJs post, and if that confirms that all that happened is they changed the number of points awarded but did not bring the total to over 15, then a possible remedy would be to write to the tribunal asking for an urgent preliminary hearing on the question of whether the appeal has lapsed. If you explain that this is important as the ongoing entitlement to ESA depends on it then they my grant it urgently.

..... oh and file another appeal just in case!

Thanks everyone, phoned tribunal service today, it was too late yesterday.  They have said there was actually a paper hearing.  Client has little english and a mental health problem and only just got in touch with no idea why her benefits have stopped!  Worthing BDC still trying to work out what has happened they don’t seem to realise there has been a tribunal.

A sort of less worrying error at least.  But still needs sorting out for the client of course.

Thanks again Clara