Am applying for esa.

I receive dla at the higher rate for both, this was awarded indefinately from 2012. In that my main condition of ankylosing spondilitus is now end stage, along with Epilepsy and osteoarthritis, am i likely to need a medical, or will my gp's note listing these be enough.
thankyou

Hi,

Welcome to Benefits and Work

If your forum name is also your real name, you may wish to change it to maintain some anonymity.

This can be done quite easily by following the instructions on this FAQ :

My full name is showing, how can I stop it?



You don't say whether this is a fresh claim for ESA, or you are being transferred over from another "Benefit" : IB, IS, SDA, Migration to ESA FAQ’s

Either way, whether or not you have to attend a Face to Face (F2F) Assessment, "medical", will be dependent on how much evidence that ATOS and The DWP have access to, and whether they can make a paper based award on this evidence.

An important part of this evidence will be The ESA50 Questionnaire. (which is necessary in almost all ESA assessments)

If you haven't already received one, filled it in, and returned it, you might want to consider :

Using The PDF Version Of The ESA50 Questionnaire

Whilst referring to the guides, 3rd and 4th links down on this page :

ESA Claims Guides

You will also see guides on understanding ESA, and being transferred to ESA from the top two links of the same page.

See also :

How long do I have to complete the ESA50?

ESA50 too big for the envelope

&

Sending Documents to the DWP or ATOS

Many, many of our members have received ESA Awards without the need of a F2F.

bro58

Thankyou for the information. this is a fresh claim for contribution based claim, as i was previously unaware i could claim it, i checked with the national insurance office that my class 1 was up to date, and it was so i have put a claim in.

jac wrote: Thankyou for the information. this is a fresh claim for contribution based claim, as i was previously unaware i could claim it, i checked with the national insurance office that my class 1 was up to date, and it was so i have put a claim in.

O.K. j,

I gather that you have claimed over the phone, and/or used an ESA 1 Claim Form :

www.gov.uk/employment-support-allowance/overview

In that case once your claim is processed, you should be paid Assessment Rate ESA, currently £72.40/Week for a single over 25 year old.

As I see that you are also in receipt of HR Care DLA you may also be entitled to The Severe Disability Premium (SDP) which would be paid of top of your ESA as an Income Related (IR) ESA top-up, if you can pass the means test with respect to savings, capital, assets, household income and any hours worked by a partner if you have one :

Asset rule for ESA(IR)

24 hour work rule for ESA(IR)

And you fulfill all of the other criteria for payment of The SDP :

ESA Premiums

This will involve you being financially assessed, and if you haven't already provided details of your financial and personal circumstances, (savings, any other income, etc ,etc) and you think that you may be entitled to IR ESA Premiums on top of your CB ESA payments, you should inform the DWP, and request an ESA 3 Financial Assessment Form.

If you are entitled to any IR ESA payments, even a penny, this "passports" you to other things like HB, CTS, SMI as well as free prescriptions and dental care.

Once your ESA payments are in place, you should receive the ESA50 Questionnaire to fill in and return within a few weeks.

Hope this helps.

bro58

Very helpful thankyou, what is hb and cts.

jac wrote: Very helpful thankyou, what is hb and cts.

Hi J,

HB = Housing Benefit, if you rent from a Social Landlord.

CTS = Council Tax Support.

Information regarding both of the above can be found on your Council/Local Authority Website.

bro58