Relief - ESA into Work Related Group

Thanks Survior (am not sure if the other post went through).

Where can I find out the rates for the Support Group and other associated benefits, such as the "Extra" I have to budget, since I live in private rented accommodation. Or, through ignorance, will find myself on the street.

I did find out what the rates for Support Group is, but could not find anything else about what extras.

It seems that with the rate for the Support Group, it will be half of what I am now getting with IS and disability premium etc... I could not survive on this, for sure.

Thank you fellow sufferers and others on your kind comments.

It looks as if it is just as well as apart from the ME/CFS I have been having very frequent migraine symptoms, and found out on Saturday that I have a cataract in one eye which is probably causing them, so will now wait for an operation.

chafur47 - you will find the rates for ESA on this link to the Directgov site:
www.direct.gov.uk/en/DisabledPeople/Fina...upport/esa/DG_171896

Re any extras ... well there is Disability Living Allowance if you are not already claiming that. There is a lot of info to help you to fill in the forms on this site re DLA.

The other things would be Housing Benefit, and Council Tax Benefit which you have to claim via your local council.

I am not aware of other additions but I don't know if those already on IB will get some of them carried over. I am unclear what has been promised on this.

I am very pleased to hear of CFS sufferers getting what they deserve. Well done!
I suffer from cfs/me and have done for 10 years. I'm dreading the reappraisal of my condition for ESA, i just hope its later rather than sooner, but i fear my review date has just come round nicely to coincide with ESA.
It came from out of the blue that my dla would be under threat too. I spent years getting an indefinate award of LR care and HR mobility, and now that looks like it too could be under threat.
I thought the article on bounty hunters was
great. Both my benefits are non means tested so i found the newspaper articles disgraceful. They implied they would be looking for people buying certain goods that clearly weren't living the life of a disabled person. I was thinking do i really need to pay cash if i buy my nephew a football for christmas.
One last thought... this "we're in it together" business.. It would seem that disabled people are being asked to pay rather more than their fair share. The bankers must be laughing thier heads off! (oh and the directors of Experian)

Hi
I also have been diagnosed with ME/CFS but am still waiting for an appointment for treatment although I have seen the doctor at the hospital who diagnosed me. I am really nervous about the ESA medical as I am struggling to even go out of the house at the moment I am so weak and shaky.

One last thought... this "we're in it together" business.. It would seem that disabled people are being asked to pay rather more than their fair share. The bankers must be laughing thier heads off! (oh and the directors of Experian)

That "we" is true about those who say it
-- for the rest of us, it's

Hi all, firstly congratulations to mermaid for getting into the work related group. it's good to see.

I'm a new member here, I tried to reply to this thread last night but couldnt as i was a free subscriber. have just paid up now. (i do think the fee is a little harsh especially for those of us on little income but hey ho)

I have had cfs/me for about 8 years and had my atos medical yesterday. i applied for benefits 3 months ago and they have paid me £65 a week so far after getting a sick note.

the strange thing is i got the appointment for the Pathway to Work about 2 weeks after i returned my atos questionnaire. so i've had 1 appointment with them already, before i'd even been assessed, is that normal?

unfortunately i didn't research anything on this atos medical first, also didnt find this website till last night. i was overly optmistic about being accepted, now i know i will almost certainly get declined (i went on my own, drove by car) and am able to do some light exercise as long as i have the time to recover afterwards (im still tired and sometimes exhausted while doing it, but that doesn't matter to them)

i was working full time for 2 years and then part time for 6 years with the cfs/me, and life was sheer hell, especially in the full time days, but things weren't much better even when i was part time. i didn't go to the doctors for many years with this condition (i was sure there was nothing they could do, and upto now i've been proven right) and I simply stuggled on, looking mainly at alternative health for treatment.

i was made redundant in june last year and have been living off my redundancy and savings until 3 months ago when i applied for benefits. I live with parents so at least i dont have mortgage to worry about.

i do see a consulatant for this condition every few months.

when filling in the questionnaire (which was one of the hardest things ive had to do for a long time and took me 5 weeks) i noticed how the questions seemed irrelavant to this condition.

the atos doctor was nice and friendly and so i did let my guard down a bit, i was completely honest, i didnt research this properly until it was too late.

so after reading on this, im pretty sure i'll be deemed fit to work, i can do light activities in short bursts but i really need to pace myself, i.e. do one thing a day. i can if my life depending on it push myself more than this, but then i suffer the consequences. again the medical didn't seem to address this nor care. i have months where i rarely leave the house, other months where i feel a bit more able to do things, then if i do too much, my activity level might reduce for a month or 2.

sorry i know im rambling but i was eager to share my experiences so far, im suffering quite extensive brain fog and fatigue now after yesterday so this isnt a great post.

So, my atos medical was yesterday and the doctor said i should get a decision in a few weeks, is this about right? my sick note runs out in 2 weeks, so im thinking i will need to get a new one.

i would like to try and return to some form of part time work that is as stress free as possible, my last job was very stressful and made this condition much worse.

so i would greatluy appreciate being accepted into the work related group.

the thought of job hunting on my own absolutely daunts me, i dont have the energy and ive no idea who would hire me. im expected to be told im fit for work and i will probably spk to the CAB about appealing. i hope they help with that because i dont feel i would have the energy or attention span to do so.

oh, my experiences with the DWP so far have been very bad, the amount of phone calls i needed to make to get my money was ridiculous then they refused to believe the date on the sick note. am still waiting for a backdated period from them, i wont hold my breath. the way they treat sick and disabled people is wrong.

Thanks for the website creators for sharing this useful information, i have been pretty in the dark so far about what's goin on in relation to benefits, so im glad this website exist.

also im glad to speak to the people on this forum and read about your experiences, otherwise i would be completely in the dark.