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Forum Home  →  Discussion  →  Work capability issues and ESA  →  Thread

Twilight zone - assessment in July 2016 has disappeared!

JojoMitchell
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Disability Law Service, London

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Total Posts: 290

Joined: 10 July 2017

Just seeing if anyone has any ideas.  Had a call from a client who attended her ESA assessment in Ipswich in July 2016.  She rang as she was wondering why she was still on the assessment rate nearly 2 years later (she actually claimed ESA in 2015!).

I contacted Bury St Edmunds WCA and they have no record of any assessment.  I then contacted the assessment centre and was told that they return all files to the DWP so it has nothing to do with them.

The client is now being referred for a new assessment unfortunately as a result of our enquiry but does anyone have any ideas on what can be done about this assessment that has disappeared?

Complaints to Maximus and the GP is a given but surely they will just state what they have already told me.

Thanks as always :)

Elliot Kent
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Shelter

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Joined: 14 July 2014

Its not unheard of for documents like this to go missing and magically re-appear at some stage, due to a complaint, SAR or whatever.

However, I doubt that there would be much significance in finding the report now. An assessment report has no independent legal significance. The only legal relevance of the report is that the DM will use it to inform the actual assessment decision. Without the decision, there is no right to payment, no appeal rights etc. It sounds like in this case, there was never a decision - just a report.

Financial redress could be requested in terms of a few quid for inconvenience; but I think you can already make that case just on the basis of what you have already without seeing the actual report itself?