ESA claim shut down by DWP without a decision

I ahve a client who was claiming Contributory ESA for over a year. Her contributions came to an end and she was not entitled to IR ESA due to hsuband’s earnings. ESA continued stamp only pending the outcome of her WCA.

Unfortunately for her, she then turned pension age and went onto her SRP.

DWP closed down her ESA claim without making any decision or doing a WCA.

I have written to them to request a final decision is made on her claim. That’s as far as I’ve got so far so it’s early days yet. Just wondering if anyone else has had this issue and was it resolved?

I may have misunderstood your question, but the fact she turned pension age would have closed the ESA claim, as she is no longer eligible due to age.

Yes she would not be able to cotninue to claim ESA once she draws her SRP but she has only received the assessment rate of ESA for a whole year and no decision was ever made. She should have had a WCA and placed within a group so potentially she should be due a backpayment to cover the period she was claiming.

Does the SRP shut down the period of limited capability for work I wonder? That might give a mechanism to argue that a WCA should be carried out.

she would normally have had the ESA50 form early in the claim and then completed it there are often long gaps to the medical if one was done, though we are now getting a lot of client assessed late and back dated i will say there are some clients where getting the benefit at assessment rate has been better than they might have had given the assessment had been done on time

do you have contact numbers for your local ESA claim maintainence they can usually see what happened to the case

alternative would be a letter but that could take months

most of my phone numbers only cover the northern area but if you know what office your local esa claim are at i can see if i have anything (no promises)

I understand now; so in the 12 months of cbESA, she was on assessment rate only pending ESA50 and a medical, which was never forthcoming.

I’m not sure how it will pan out, as the ones I have chased up have all been of working age, sitting on the assessment phase for months on end. Once chased a medical and decision was always forthcoming, but of course only backdated to the date of the decision following the medical - not backdated to the 13th week of the assessment phase. Had she completed an ESA50 and was she just waiting for the medical, or had that not even been done?

- you may need to make a maladministration complaint too.

My initial reaction would be to submit a complaint setting out all of the relevant points - your client claimed ESA prior to retirement age, the award lasted however long, then credits only, then SRP. No assessment, now JCP refusing to assess.  Get your MP involved if you foresee heel-dragging at DWP.