ESA: The end of work capability assessments!!!!

Finance and benefits
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YES! This morning the government announced that repeated work capability assessments for people with long-term chronic illnesses will stop!!!

They mentioned Parkinsons, Motor neuron AND MS!!!

Of course they’re stopping them because Corbyn has pledged to stop them but whatever the reason it’s great news.

Let’s hope they will do the same for PIP.

Celebrating with a cup of decaf (oh sweet mystery of life where art thou…)

Pat xx

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Excellent news on the face of it and hope the detail matches our expectations. Clearly good work by the MS Society and other charities, although I suspect the clincher was the fact it wasn’t saving any money.

Hopefully PIP next.

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My husband is just in the process of assessment for PIP, does that mean they scrap that and he can stay on ESA? Xx

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Hi Gitte, PIP and ESA are two different benefits. They have not made changes to PIP assessments (but we live in hope!) but if your husband is on ESA, if they have assessed him as unable to work due to MS, then he won’t be called back for more assessments.

It’s a really wonderful change as some people have been called back to assessments every 3 months even though they have MS or another chronic condition that won’t improve.

If your husband is getting ESA and he gets PIP he will get both benefits.

Hope that explains it,

Pat xx

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Thanks Pat for your reply. He is on ESA we thought for a long time. He now is being assessed for Pip, we are waiting for a result for Pip, he just had his health professional check yesterday. He is getting the higher disability allowance, and at one point it was called ESA , are really confused x

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Good news

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you seem to be confused over DLA and ESA.

DLA is Disability Living Allowance and is changing to Personal Independent Payment,it sounds like your husband is going through this process.Anyone on DLA will have to go on to the new PIP

ESA is Employment Support Allowance and is a completely different allowance.It used to be called Incapacity Benefit.

I think you got the ESA and DLA mixed up.

PIP used to be DLA.

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Thank you xxx

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Yes, good news. But I resent the way they make it sound like they’re doing us a huge, generous favour, and that they were oh so clever to have thought of it.

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Very true Kev!

Also I find it amazing that Iain Duncan-Smith has the bare-faced cheek to say that he wanted to stop the assessments all along!!!

What I remember is a debate in the Commons on work capability assessments when hardly any Tories were even there, when Glenda Jackson really gave him hell about how awful it was for ill and disabled people, and how IDS sat there with a sneery smirk on his face!!! (If anyone would like to see that it’s on YouTube).

Now we need the PIP repeat assessments to stop!

Hope all are doing ok,

Pat xx

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That’s good news My 25 year old daughter lives in 24 hour supported care she has autism and severe learning difficulties, it runs in our family 3 out of 7 of our children have autistic spectrum disorders. I found it immensely stressful when we had to take her for the interviews as it was obvious that her difficulties weren’t going to be cured. Michelle

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I feel just the same they make me sick.

J x

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