Thanks B&W. Migrated from IB to ESA SG without WCA

Hi, I've recently been informed by telephone, and today received a confirmation letter, stating that I will be migrated from IB to the ESA (CB) Support Group starting from 1st June without the need for a WCA. I phoned DWP today to enquire re. the length of time and was told 3 years. I'd like to thank everyone at B&W for the invaluable help both via the forum and the guides.

I have a couple of questions

1. On the page in the confirmation letter which gives a breakdown of what I'll be paid it states, 'The amounts on this page apply from 1 June 2013 to 29 November 2013'. Clearly this is only 6 months. Do you have any idea why it is only for this amount of time given that I have a prognosis of 3 years? Will the amount be re-assessed after 29 November? I am entitled to £71.70 Living Expenses, £34.80 Support Group allowance and £5.55 top-up so that the total amount is equal to my IB amount.
2. When I received the confirmation phone-call from DWP, I was told I may be entitled to extra money and was asked whether I wanted an application form for this. Obviously I said yes, so was sent form ESA3. Do you think I should wait until receiving my first ESA payment before filing this form with Jobcentre Plus? I don't want to confuse them unnecessarily! I'm still trying to fathom why they sent me an INF1 leaflet with my confirmation letter as this is a guide for Jobseeker's Allowance.

Once again, thanks so much for your help.

Hi Tao,

Congratulations! Thank you for sharing your good news with us - and for your kind words about this site

1) DWP are well known for confusing claimants and the mention of November is another instance of this. The November date is entirely related to DWP administration ( regarding the Christmas bonus) and nothing to do with when your ESA is due to be reassessed or payment changed. While the 3 year reassessment is only advisory and does not form part of the decision, there is no reason to assume that DWP will not abide by it. You should expect another ESA50 in around 34 months time.

2) I don't think there is really any guidance as to when you should submit the ESA3. DWP frequently send out leaflets relating to JSA when communicating with ESA claimants - see the first sentance of 1) above!!

Thanks for your reply, Mrs H. Yes,that makes sense re. the Christmas bonus. I think it's usually paid in the 1st week of December.