Can someone tell me how often existing recipients of ESA (SG) should get ESA50 questionnaires?

Client has brain injury due to road accident 15 yrs ago and has some rt sided physical weaknesses but has significant cognative and intellectual disabilities - principally failiure to socially engage and uncontrolled anger.

Client migrated from Incapacity to ESA in 2012.
Placed in WRA group (there was no WCA)
Appealed and - eventually - FTT put into SG (quoting Sch 3. activity 14).

There has ben recurring problems with JC+ seemingly unable to correctly update ESA award and it took over 6 montms before correct payments made. I was told that this is because the client was a former DWP employee and his claim was only allowed to be processed manually (presumably this is not known to JC+ call centre operators who frequently gave wrong information over many weeks).

Now client has received an ESA50.
- ATOS tells him that (according to DWP he is still in WRAG)
- DWP tells him he is in SG but some SG have to fill in forms every 3 - 6 months. Oh -and they do not care if he is in SG - they can do what they like - his SG is only for two years anyway.

Due to the history of his records being badly processed I am not sure what to make of this. He does tend to go off on a tirade when he is told the wrong thing so it is quite possible he has upset the JC+ worker.

Surely there is a contradiction for SG ESA to be reviewed as a WRAG - particularly when his condition is clearly permanent. I have never heard og SG being time limited - what is that all about?

Can anyone suggest any way to change this - a continual series of ASA50s will simply cause anger outbursts and does no one any good?

An award of ESA is not time limited.  However, claimants are usually subject to re-assessment, no matter what group they are in.  Recommendations on when re-assessments take place are simply that.  Recommendations.  The DWP can, by and large, and subject to rules of fairness and abuse of public office, re-assess him any time they want

The maximum review period is currently 2 years and that is calculated from the date of the last assessment whatever the Tribunal say should happen.

If he’s got a permanent condition and there’s medical evidence to suggest it’s permanent then you should be questioning the grounds for supersession.

Also bear in mind that there may be a breach of the Equality Act & HRA so legal advice would be beneficial and possibly quite lucrative in the mid term for your client. I know that there is test case material in testing the current Filework Guidlines and the review periods against the EA and HRA’s requirements where there is a permanent condition. I don’t think anyone’s canvassing for the work at the moment but it would bear proper scrutiny.

The deadline to file proceedings is 6 months from the last act of discrimination, ring 0845 345 4 345 to start the process and be aware of lots of bureaucracy at the outset. Best an adviser helps them through it all…

and after I said that they put one of mine into the Support Group for 3 years; I shall need to revisit the filework guidance!

Edit; either they’ve changed it since last June or the max is either 2 years or “in the longer term”

I feel an FOI request coming on…

Guidance from a tribunal is just that. However, on a practical level, the invites go out from ATOS. Tribunal decisions are not given to them as a matter of course. Therefore it’s up to you to join the dots and ensure that ATOS know what the tribunal recommended else they will happily pull people in once a quarter.

Of course when you send the decision to ATOS they may query what you think you’re doing and claim it’s nothing to do with them. However…

DWP decision makers can extend the SG review period to three years where the evidence supports it but they don’t advertise the fact.

A detailed neurology report highlighting the substantial risks to client’s health if not found to have continued limited capability for Work Related Activity would help.

It is entirely possible his DWP records are noted as restricted access due to his prior employment but if that the case then the average DWP telephony operator would not be able to gain basic access either.

Normally DWP follow recommendations of the Tribunal Service regarding reviews. Uf your client is being faced with frequent questionnaires every few months that would infer there is a possible personal element to the decision-making perhaps??

I would suggest perhaps requesting DWP complete an audit trail to determine if the DM involved has worked with your client in the past…........

Thank you for all your responses.

I have to say that it seems rational to me that - IF - WRA group (which by definition is expected to be temporary) gets reassessment over a matter of months apart. Then using the same logic - Support Group would only need reviews with much longer intervals (to avoid wasting resources).

or am I being naive?

With my help, he has made a complaint that ATOS has not been told about his successful SG appeal. - I will be interested to see how it works out.

I submitted a WRAG to SG recon for my client, JC+ actually reconsidered it and placed her in the Support Group! . . . 3 weeks after the notification she received an ESA50 :( doh!