Ok, sorry Honeybee and apologies to Miss Anxious. and thanks to reallymadwoman &sillygirl I'll do as you advise.

Hi Miss Anxious, hope you don't mind me asking a question on your thread. Well done by the way for getting your form filled in so promptly. I've had mine for a week and have only managed to get half way through it so far as I find it all a bit onerous. My question is that I have my tribunal decision notice from my last assessment and was granted support group on regulation 35(2). Everything they wrote in the decision still applies so I want to know if I can use this evidence? I'm a bit short of evidence this time, though I'm very hopeful my GP will do a supporting letter and I'm seeing her this afternoon, if I'm able to get there.

Maybe what this is about? ....................... a White Paper, expected before the Budget in mid-March, is expected to provide for the abolition of the WCA with a new test to be introduced in its place ............ http://www.rightsnet.org.uk/forums/viewthread/9314/

Yes, I think they may leave the support group for a while as it's now obvious they were working on removing a whole tier of claimants (wrag) getting sickness benefits, so maybe they will prioritise those. I'm the same as others, it's the stress of not knowing where you are in terms of reassessment that really gets to me and the process of going through it even though I am as prepared as I can be. It really makes me unwell with crippling anxiety apart from my other health issues. It's like a cruel and unusual punishment for the crime of being disabled.

Just came across this on Rightsnet. It says they have capacity to start to reassess 'some' people. So not too sure what that means for those of us whose assessments were postponed in Jan 2014. WCA reassessments to start again http://www.rightsnet.org.uk/forums/viewthread/9097/

I was last assessed in 2011 and given 2 years in the support group so was due to be reassessed in Dec 2013, but must have been one of the first to be postponed for the 2 years. It's now December 2015 and I've been expecting an ESA50 form but no sign of it yet. It was a nightmare in 2011 getting that form done as I was suffering from really bad flu when it came and I was unwell for over three weeks so only had a week to complete it and get it sent off. This time I'm ready for it, I downloaded the form and over the last month have been forming my response so it'll just be a case of copying it in. It's always a horrible time waiting for the brown envelope but this time of year it seems worse what with my birthday in a few days and then the stress of Christmas, and worrying about them getting it in time with postal delays etc. As yours is due in the spring please try and enjoy the Christmas period. Maybe you could download the form and do some work on it early in the New Year so you are prepared.

A lot of savings to the benefits bill will surely be made because, from now on, the DWP will have access to peoples pension pots once they reach 55 if they don't have an annuity (they might even be able to re-jig that) So if they fall ill/become unemployed, after the contribution phase, anyone will a pot of over £16k will have to support themselves and I believe the deprivation of capital rules will also apply.

I did not choose to be Agoraphobic, but I do choose to live as well as I can within those parameters.

Well, there you go. I repeat it does not cause me a problem rather it causes other people a problem. I don't quite see why I should consider myself defeated. Why should it be a negative just because I've living a different lifestyle to you? It's certainly not a half-life like a slave. "A rich man is not the one who has the most but the one who needs the least" I appreciate that you're trying to help but truly I'm quite happy as I am. I don't feel in anyway confined just because I don't live a mainstream life. In fact I would say, that to me, it's mostly those living a mainstream life that appear to be living a half-life like a slave.

I can't answer for Nystagmite but from my point of view I don't think there is anything wrong with being realistic about my conditiion. I have had severe Agoraphobia for the past 25+ years and for at least the first 10 years I fought very hard against it, in fact the harder I tried to overcome it, the worse it got. At the time I didn't understand about avoidance behaviour (I don't think the medical profession understood that then either) but in trying to face up to my fears it became more deeply entrenched and I became more and more afraid. It's quite a complicated story about what triggered my condition but it involved PTSD (again nothing much was known about that at the time) and prescribed drugs that are now known to have many side effects including Agoraphobia. With hindsight, I think I just needed to allow myself to feel as I did and give myself a break but it was still those days when you'd expect, and others would tell you, to just pull yourself together and get a grip. Those years were a complete nightmare of constant panic, anxiety and bewilderment and I felt very suicidal. I got to the point where I stopped fighting as I didn't care anymore what happened to me and it's at that point things started to get a lot better for me. I don't try and overcome it any more. I am still severely Agoraphobic but can live quite contentedly within its restricted parameters as mentally and psychologically I feel very much calmer (barring the ATOS assessments when I have to drag it all up over and over which triggers all the panic and anxiety again) My being Agoraphobic seems to cause other people problems far more than it does me. Other people/friends/family are always trying to get me to go out and seem to have difficulty understanding my situation. I get a much better quality of life if I don't attempt to accompany them anywhere as I will spend the previous week very stressed out about it only to let them down at the last minute which makes me feel bad and causes bad feelings between us. In my situation you could liken it to Nuns or Monks who never leave their 'four walls' or a maybe whole life prisoner. These people adapt to their limited parameters so why shouldn't I? It's not being defeatist; it's being realistic and living with my mental disability just as someone with a physical disability might have to. It doesn't mean I live without hope of getting better, but my priority is to live as well as I can within the confines of my Agoraphobia.

Hmmm the article has been removed from the website apparently because some people have been very scared by it. I personally don't think that's a legitimate reason for it's removal, if it was true, as forewarned is forearmed even if it is a scary prospect. http://www.ldascotland.org/index.php/welfare-reform/122-the-dwp-turns-nasty-on-personal-independence-payment-claimants

All I can add is that the address they give in Rayne, Braintree is a farm with quite a number of commercial units (google earth) There are other businesses there as well. I see that they've recently advertised 8 posts at their new office in Brentwood. So I would say they are a legit company of Installers but what sort of job they're offering I couldn't say.

Thanks for the reply. I was due to be reassessed in March but haven't had the forms so hopefully it's postponed for now. As I said, they actually said on my appeal response form that they didn't dispute that I had Agoraphobia so when the time comes to be reassessed I'm hoping the worst outcome will be that I'm put in the WRAG group and I could then survive (just) on the WRAG component only and my pension. I'm just thinking ahead really. My prognosis is very poor as I've had the condition for so long. A complete turnaround would be fantastic as it's very limiting and pretty miserable. I just want to put my mind to rest a bit as I know I can't attend any interviews outside of my home.

Hi, I have some questions that I could do with some advice on if you good people would take the time to read the following. A bit of background first. I have had severe agoraphobia for the past 20 years and am currently on ESA in the support group. I was initially put in WRAG but appealed and won the tribunal that was held in my home. DWP were not contesting that I had agoraphobia just the degree to which it affected my daily life. My retirement age is 66 but I have a private pension that will start paying out later this year. It's not a huge amount and I do understand that it will be deducted from my ESA, which I have no problem with at all. I'm trying to mitigate possible future problems to try and ease the anxiety I constantly feel about future assessments in case I'm put back into the WRAG group. I would not be able to attend any WFI's but DWP might insist and then sanction me. So the question is, can they sanction my pension? i.e I believe as things are now they can remove the personal allowance part of WRAG as a sanction but not the WRAG component. That would leave me with £28.75 WRAG component plus my pension which would give me a weekly amount a few pounds short of the £72.40 that the law says you need to live on. Does anyone know what would happen given this scenario? Could they take my private pension as well and leave me just the £28.75? Any advice would be very much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Confirmation of complete chaos and disarray in delivering these assessments. http://www.channel4.com/news/disability-benefits-contractor-runs-into-trouble-video

Straight from the horses mouth http://blog.atoshealthcare.com/2014/02/clarification-about-the-completion-of-work-capability-assessments/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=clarification-about-the-completion-of-work-capability-assessments

I wanted to post a link but apparently I can't until I've made 10 posts.

Good Luck for tomorrow, I hope the outcome is good for you.

Thanks Lilly. I was initially placed in the WRAG group for two years and would have been satisfied with that as my needs are small but thank heavens at the time I read on this forum about the WFI's and the work programme as there's no way I could cope with that. So I appealed for the support group, had the tribunal in my home as I'm unable to travel any distance and they had no hesitation in awarding me the 15 points under section 35. In fact they cut the tribunal short as they heard enough for their decision and didn't want to distress me further. I truly do feel for those in WRAG who struggle on a daily basis to comply with the requirements yet have no realistic chance of finding employment, it really is pointless.

Ok thanks Lilly. Maybe they will just review it and give me a bye. Even though I've been treated very well and fairly through the whole process it's still a tortuous system.

I'll let you know if I get the forms, in fact my end date is four weeks from tomorrow so they should be here very soon. If they do come I'll virtually just copy my last ESA50 as it's too stressful to keep going over and over things. How on earth are people meant to recover from severe psychological trauma when they are constantly being asked to dredge it all up and not being allowed to move on.

Hi, I've recently phoned the DWP as my two year award is up in one months time. I asked if I was due to be reassessed and was told my case will be up for review. Guess that could mean anything really but if they are working strictly to their original time frames I think should I receive the forms in the next day or so to give me the four weeks to return them before my end date. I'm hoping, however, that 'review' means I won't have to go through the whole system again as I only won my tribunal to be placed in the support group less than six months ago and maybe they will just take a look at it and decide to extend it. They only really need to look at my history really to see it wouldn't be worth the expense of a full reassessment as my prognosis is very poor according to their own disability A-Z of conditions. Like others, I can't bear the thought of having to go through it all again but if needs must I will even though I still haven't regained the ground I lost due to the stress from my last assessment. Fingers crossed that this news is true and that we will be left in peace for a while longer.

I agree IDS has been underhand in how he's spilt ESA into two groups. I wasn't assessed until the scheme had been running for a couple of years and was put in WRAG. It had become clear by that time exactly what that meant i.e that they could put you on the work programme, courses etc which I wouldn't be able to attend so I appealed and was put into the support group for this reason. There must be many people in the WRAG group who, having gone through the system, couldn't face up to appealing , who are patently not able to work for the forseeable future but will now be stripped of ESA altogether and unable to get into the support group as their condition hasn't changed.

Personally speaking, I'd be straight on to my MP if I were in this situation. I think probably all the JC are interested in are ticking their boxes regardless of the consequences for individuals. Unless MP's are aware of these anomalies nothing will change and the DWP will continue with their one size fits all mentality. I don't know if your MP can do anything for you but it would seem the JC are unwilling to use any common sense in this instance. I guess you could also ask to speak to a manager about it rather than a grunt, but my MP would be my first port of call.

Sorry obviously didn't make myself clear. I meant the Tribunal Service only and not the DWP decision making process. I don't think the Tribunal Service even looks at the papers until a few days before the case is due to be heard hence the late adjournments.