ESA and WCA

So. I last mentioned that I was waiting for my WCA results in August (4 Aug 2012). The result came that I have been put into a Work-Related Activity Group. And at the time I had no idea what this meant. It sounded like a scheme to get me back into work. I could have saved myself a lot more misery by reading more about the process, but at the time I was in no fit state to go seeking information - this is part of the problem, yes? And when you get the letter there's really nothing to say what it means.

What it means is:

"Claimants identified for this group will take part in work-focused interviews with a personal adviser, and have access to a range of support to help them prepare for suitable work." 

A guide to Employment and Support Allowance – The Work Capability Assessment. ESA214. June 2011

Anyway I decided to appeal without the full information. But once I found out I decided to see it through for  several reasons. I felt I needed more support from the government, and I did not want to be subjected to the horrors of the WCA again. I haven't written about my experience of the WCA yet, but it was traumatic. But I also just wanted to appeal to say FUCK YOU to the system that was saying fuck you, to me. I wanted time and resources to be tied up. I wanted to contribute to the wave of appeals, to boost the statistics that the WCA does not work.

A couple of weeks later I was summoned for my work-focussed interview. Each letter one gets from the DWP is combined with a subtlety stated threat that if one does not comply one's benefits will be cut off.

So I attended the interview where I alternated between extreme hostility verging on paranoid about how this might affect my appeal, and breaking down in tears. And it took some time for the information to sink in that I was not expected to look for work, but that if I did decide to do so they're support me in some way. It took a long time to get an answer to what "support" means. It seems to me that it's aimed at people who're never worked (whereas I was a professional for many years before becoming ill) or who were living really sheltered lives. Which I suppose I am, though I'm reluctant to see myself this way.

After this as I say I decided to continue my appeal. I must say a big THANK YOU to the Citizen's Advice Bureau who coached me through the stages of the appeal and gave me an over-view of the process. I can recommend CAB to anyone thinking of appealing a WCA judgement.

To support my appeal I had to approach medical professionals and ask for their help. My GP was very helpful and supportive and wrote a note which emphasised the points that I had asked him to more or less. Part of the CAB strategy is to go through the transcript of the WCA and identify places where one got less points than one should have, and ask Drs etc to reinforce the need for more points. I also approached the past pyschotherapist I had seen and asked for her help which was also generously and compassionately given. (And she said that she thinks I have Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder which I'm not sure we had discussed before). Then I wrote, with the help of a friend, a long critique of the WCA pointing out inaccuracies, omissions, and numerous spelling and grammatical errors! I bundled it all up and sent it off.

And I won! I WON! I got moved to the Support group:

Support Group: If the effects of a claimant's health condition or disability are so severe that it would be unreasonable to expect them to prepare for work, they will join the Support Group. These claimants will receive the higher rate of Employment and Support Allowance and do not have to take part in any work-related activity as a condition of receiving benefit (although they can volunteer to do so). ESA214

And the good news is that I get about £20 extra a week. Now I'm still not sure how long this will last, or whether they will force me to undergo the WCA again soon, but I did point out that in the three years between my initial assessment for Incapacity Benefit and Employment Support Allowance my condition had not changed, and that the balance of the medical advice was that my condition was unlikely to change much, and that work if anything would make it worse. So hopefully they'll leave me alone.

That said I'm looking into ways of escaping from the system. I am looking at full-time study. This would be extremely challenging both physically and mentally but it might be doable with the right help. I'm more than capable of getting a PhD but my illnesses at various stages have made me back away from following through on my potential. My interests have changed since I last considered the possibility and I would need to do an MA or similar in my chosen subject before enrolling for a PhD. I'm using this year as a run up and a chance to explore funding opportunities for a one year MA or MPhil. It's what I love doing anyway and would take about 5 years. Not a bad five year plan! After that who knows?

This process has been six months of debilitating stress:

• Apr 26 - warning that benefits are about to change.
• May 10 - request to complete ESA50 (which replaces IB50)
• Jun 03 - reminder re ESA50
• Jun 18 - notification of WCA
• Jul 09 - WCA (by registered nurse).
• Aug 22 - notice of benefit change to ESA.
• Sep 10 - acknowledgement of appeal 
• Sep 26 - DWP employee rings me to try to "sort out" my appeal over the phone. I take this to be a thinly disguised attempt to screw up my appeal by an unscrupulous employee trying to meet targets.
• Oct 02  - Personal Advisor interview.
• Oct 22 - Appeal decision
• Oct 25 - Notice of change of payments.