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Forum Home  →  Discussion  →  Covid-19 issues  →  Thread

Corona Virus: Client Self Isolating

Terry Craven
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Hope Advice Centre, Liverpool

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I have a client who is classed in the vulnerable group for contracting the illness.  He developed symptoms last week. He was due to attend a WCA on Tuesday. Thinking it prudent he contacted the assessment call centre and informed them he would not be able to attend the assessment.  He was advised he needs to get a doctor’s note to this effect.  Not only does this go against the general advice. Making benefit claimants attend assessment during this crucial period puts them at risk, as well as other claimants who attend the centre on that day and the assessment centre staff.
Unless anybody can contradict me me, it seems the Government have not considered benefit claimants to be in vulnerable groups. I have just watched BBC news, who had a medical expert on. He gave the following hypothesis based on the Government’s strategy. Of the 60 million inhabitants of the UK, 80% will have to contract the disease to try to achieve a herd immunity. This means 1 million CV19 deaths   I hope my calculation is wrong. Notwithstanding this should we be pressuring the Government to introduce emergency powers to protect benefit claimants., e.g.
All existing awards of AA, DLA, PIP, ESA and UC(sickness) should be continued indefinitely and not reviewed until the crisis is over. For new PIP, ESA, UC AA and DLA claims,  the following should apply.
Paper only decisions, the DWP contacts the GP for medical evidence.  Obviously we can help. if DWP liaise with us.
Suspend the requirement for claimants to attend assessment centres.  If an assessment is absolutely essential
Provide home assessments or assessments to be carried out in a controlled environment.
It would be very helpful if the Government followed these policies. However, I am not optimistic. .

Paul_Treloar_AgeUK
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Information and advice resources - Age UK

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Perhaps you should point them in the direction of the DWP guidance?

Special arrangements will be in place for people in receipt of benefits who cannot attend reassessments or jobcentre appointments because they are required to stay at home or are infected by coronavirus.

The arrangements are:

* disabled and sick claimants who cannot attend a reassessment for Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) or Universal Credit will continue to receive their payments while their assessment is rearranged
* people who need to claim ESA or Universal Credit because of coronavirus will not be required to produce a fit note.

Coronavirus support for employees, benefit claimants and businesses

shawn mach
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rightsnet.org.uk

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Looks like a related announcement due today:

https://www.rightsnet.org.uk/forums/viewthread/15644/P30/#74497

Benny Fitzpatrick
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Welfare Rights Officer, Southway Housing Trust, Manchester

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So ESA or SSP will be payable from day one, but UC(LCW) still subject to a five week wait?  That doesn’t make a lot of sense, does it?

Ianb
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Macmillan benefits team, Citizens Advice Bristol

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And nothing to help self employed people with the financial consequences of the virus. MIF lifted while they self isolate or are ill but nothing to recognise that they may simply be unable to carry out their business due to the need to limit human interaction.

WillH
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Locum adviser - CPAG in Scotland

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http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/289/pdfs/uksi_20200289_en.pdf

The definition of isolation seems wide enough to me to catch your client & indeed many others

‘“isolation” in relation to a person, means the separation of that person from any other person
in such a manner as to prevent infection or contamination with Coronavirus disease’

So if isolating to prevent your own infection/contamination, OR to prevent others getting it, both seem arguable?

In any case diagnosis not required

Explanatory memo wasn’t much help so hoping for more guidance soon

Mike Hughes
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Senior welfare rights officer - Salford City Council Welfare Rights Service

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The CASA - 14 March 2020 05:54 PM

I have a client who is classed in the vulnerable group for contracting the illness.  He developed symptoms last week. He was due to attend a WCA on Tuesday. Thinking it prudent he contacted the assessment call centre and informed them he would not be able to attend the assessment.  He was advised he needs to get a doctor’s note to this effect.  Not only does this go against the general advice. Making benefit claimants attend assessment during this crucial period puts them at risk, as well as other claimants who attend the centre on that day and the assessment centre staff.
Unless anybody can contradict me me, it seems the Government have not considered benefit claimants to be in vulnerable groups. I have just watched BBC news, who had a medical expert on. He gave the following hypothesis based on the Government’s strategy. Of the 60 million inhabitants of the UK, 80% will have to contract the disease to try to achieve a herd immunity. This means 1 million CV19 deaths   I hope my calculation is wrong. Notwithstanding this should we be pressuring the Government to introduce emergency powers to protect benefit claimants., e.g.
All existing awards of AA, DLA, PIP, ESA and UC(sickness) should be continued indefinitely and not reviewed until the crisis is over. For new PIP, ESA, UC AA and DLA claims,  the following should apply.
Paper only decisions, the DWP contacts the GP for medical evidence.  Obviously we can help. if DWP liaise with us.
Suspend the requirement for claimants to attend assessment centres.  If an assessment is absolutely essential
Provide home assessments or assessments to be carried out in a controlled environment.
It would be very helpful if the Government followed these policies. However, I am not optimistic. .

The herd immunity element of that was nonsense. It was casually thrown in by the head of the formerly titled “Nudge” unit who was subsequently given what several papers described as a “B********g by ministers. It would appear he’s been used as a whipping boy by a government intent on a laissez faire approach and floating “herd immunity” discreetly as an additional “benefit” of the approach. When it backfired badly and was rightly ridiculed by scientists who pointed out that at present we have zero evidence that infection creates immunity and potential evidence that people can be infected more than once (which would hardly be extraordinary news to anyone who has been ill) they cut him loose.

On one level this was Machiavellian on a grand scale. On another I cannot begin to describe how much pleasure it gives me to see such patent nonsense picked apart by fact. The “Behavioural Insights/Nudge” team (as with all of their ilk) talk a good talk but use anecdotal evidence which falls apart at the merest examination.

WillH
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Locum adviser - CPAG in Scotland

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See also:
https://www.rightsnet.org.uk/forums/viewthread/15715/

Thanks to Mike for your latest on this; so it looks as if assessments will continue but phone/paper based

bristol_1
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WRAMAS Bristol City Council

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I spoke to CHDA to pass on my client’s communication needs in case of a phone assessment (as WCA on Thursday now canx), and the operator said - we don’t do phone assessments, we’re just suspending them all for 3 months.
The press release says claimants “will be contacted to discuss next steps and alternative arrangements, which could involve either telephone or paper-based assessments”

PIP reg 9 has specific provision for phone assessments, so Atos/Capita may take a different view to Maximus, although I’ve been advised previously by Atos when asking for a phone assessment (as a reasonable adjustment) that they don’t do phone assessments as they can’t do observations/examinations ....