ESA Premiums

If a person lives alone and gets DLA middle care should they get the Severe Disability Premium in the assessment phase?

yes - as long as meet income-based ESA conditions

I have come accross this problem over and over again where both DWP and HB do not believe SDP can be payable with ESA. In fact it does make up the income based applicable amount for a lone client (or couple who could both have entitlement) with no non dependents or anyone claiming carers allowance.

Quickest way to deal with this is request an revision or appeal sighting ESA Schedule 4 Paragraph 6 of the ESA regulations and HB Schedule 3 paragraph 14 of the Housing benefit regulations.

Hi,

Thank you for this.

Hi,

My client has now appealed an ESA decision and been told he can’t get the Severe disability premium whilst appealing an ESA decision. Is this correct? He has been told he will get them backdated if he wins the appeal. I am not clear what would happen if he lost. This seems wrong to me as surely it is about his applicable amount not whether he is appealing an ESA decision.

help!!?

short answer - he should still be getting the SDP while appealing

It is not correct - the sdp has nothing to do with appealing - it sounds like they don’t know what they are talking about and are confusing it with the components (wrac or support) or qualifying for the enhanced disability premium on the grounds of support component.
They just need to send your client that form that confirms no-one receiving carers and living alone and they can pay.

My understanding is that during the appeal you are treated as in the assessment period.

Regulation 6 of the ESA Regs states “Where the period for which the claimant is entitled to an employment and support allowance commences and the claimant has made and is pursuing an appeal against a decision which embodies a determination that that claimant does not have limited capability for work, the assessment phase in relation to that claimant ends when the appeal is determined by an appeal tribunal constituted under Chapter 1 of Part 1 of the Social Security Act 1998(1).”

This to me seems to suggest that the claimant is still treated as being in the assessment phase therfore should still be able to get anything that they were entitled to before the decision was made. 

My understanding is that the only thing that won’t be payable are the components.

Can someone confirm this is correct

That’s always been my interpretation also.  It was certainly the case with IS pending the PCA appeal.  The reduction pending the hearing was 20% of the personal allowance with all applicable premiums paid.  I’ve seen nothing in the ESA regulations which departs from this approach, deliberately shutting out the payment of the premiums.

I have now had a call back from Glasgow and they now agree with me so looks like SDP should be paid - my concern is that this can’t have been the first case where this has happened.