Leaked DWP letter - IB migration to ESA will be a nightmare & our fears realised this may also AFFECT DLA
Since hearing about the migration of Incapacity Benefit (IB) claimants to Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). There have been many issues for which clarity has, until now, been amiss. How will the DWP deal with the numbers of claimants, what about the number of appeals etc.
One issue that has been the "elephant in the room" for me has been the impact of the migration on existing Disability Living Allowance claims. I last touched on this in this forum topic "MP's Guide to Disability, Lord Freud & Welfare Reform, Anne Begg MP all at the APPG Disability Financial Independence Event" . As a small organisation I raise issue with the larger campaigning groups when we meet to share information. There does seem to have been much denial thus far.
A few years ago the DWP merged many of its systems such as the IB and DLA databases. It seemed to me wholly logical that if an appraisal for ESA was done and an award was given for Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) rather than the Support Component of ESA. That the medical evidence may produce on the system, a contradiction with existing medical evidence held on an existing DLA claim. That "contradiction" may lead the DWP to then instigate a review of that claimants DLA. Many suggested that the DLA is not judged on ability to work therefore I was worrying unduly. However we than heard of the new medical assessment for DLA claimants, government wanting to cut those numbers claiming the DLA by 20% and save over £ 1 billion. Again some thought I was worrying unduly.
Looking at forensically at the existing Work Capability Assessment (WCA) and comparing that to the existing areas on the current DLA application form. There are like-for-like tests. For example you may be unable to cook a meal for yourself and explain so on the DLA form. However if you undertake a WCA for ESA if you can hold a pen you will be scored down and thus more likely to receive JSA.
The Benefits and Work website sent an email out to members yesterday about a leaked letter from the DWP. I have found a copy of this letter on a blog by Dawn Willis. Click here for her blog entry, I replicate it also below -
"Leaked DWP letter reveals IB to ESA transfer may affect DLA.
Posted July 22, 2010 by Dawn Willis in Uncategorized. Leave a Comment
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Risky IB to ESA transfer may affect DLA, leaked DWP letter reveals |
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21 July 2010 A DWP mole has provided Benefits and Work with a confidential letter which reveals that DLA claims may be affected when 1.5 million incapacity benefit claimants are transferred to employment and support allowance, beginning next year. The letter also discloses that the DWP consider migration to be a ‘risk’ because the pre-migration pilot will test almost nothing . Until full migration starts the DWP will have no idea whether its computer software will work or whether Jobcentre Plus or Atos will be able to cope with the huge volume of extra medicals, phone calls and letters involved. The confidential letter, dated 29 June 2010, informs Jobcentre Plus managers that the DWP will reassess approximately 1,518,000 claimants out of a total of 2.5 million currently on incapacity benefits. This number allows for ‘off-flows’ of claimants due to death or recovery and for those reaching state pension age. The letter reveals that the DWP expect “about 20% of existing IB customers to subsequently submit JSA claims” after being refused ESA. This means that Jobcentre Plus is expecting to cope with an additional 300,000 JSA claims beginning in March 2011, at the same time as it is cutting around 84,000 staff An “Early Migration Trial” will run from October 2010 to January 2011 to test the processes for migration and to “gauge customer reaction”. Claimants will be selected from Burnley and Aberdeen Benefits Delivery Centres and the trial will also involve the use of Contact Centres in Coventry, Bangor and Bridgend. However, all 1,700 trial migrations will be carried out clerically, meaning that DWP computer software will not be used or tested until full migration starts in February 2011. The letter acknowledges that migration “carries a certain amount of risk” because of this lack of testing. In fact, the document admits that the trial will not:
So, the supposed trial, will deal with a tiny 1,700 claimants over a period of four months with no use of Jobcentre Plus computer software – everything will be done on paper. Immediately afterwards, full migration will begin with 10,000 claimants a week – approximately 75 times as many – being assessed using entirely untested DWP software. The DWP won’t know how long it will take to process cases and pay people or have any idea whether Jobcentre plus or Atos can cope with the workload once migration begins. Whilst Atos will be using the same software they already use for work capability assessments, they are having to recruit new staff to carry out medicals and open new medical examination centres in an attempt to cope with the increased workload. The possibility of chaos, not just for claimants being transferred but for everyone else using Jobcentre Plus and Atos services is immense. If everything doesn’t run smoothly call centres will be jammed with thousands of angry and distressed claimants, paperwork will pile up as staff spend their time fire-fighting and the tribunals service will struggle beneath the weight of additional appeals. The DWP, however, appear to be hoping to reduce the number of appeals by getting decision makers to explain decisions over the telephone: “Reassessment decisions will be given to customers in an outbound phone call from Decision Makers in the BDC [Benefit Delivery Centre]. Despite this we should anticipate that we will need to continue to handle a significant number of appeals against the reassessment process.” The letter also explains that the claimants undergoing migration will be subject to “a number of touch-points through their journey to provide support and encourage compliance”. There is no indication of what a “touch-point” might be. Finally, the document warns that “The outcome of the reassessment process may ultimately affect customers claims for Disability living allowance (DLA but not Attendance Allowance” The letter does not enlarge on this statement in any way, but it is a worrying indication that the DWP is intending to use the work capability assessments carried out on migrating claimants to also reconsider some DLA awards.. Whether this will be at the discretion of individual decision makers or whether the DWP software will automatically trigger a review of a DLA award in specified circumstances is not clear. What is clear, however, is that because of an absence of any proper preparation or testing, the DWP has no idea whether migration will run smoothly or be a total disaster."
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PDF version Mentioned in the January 2010 meeting notes page 12. "Use of Employment and Support Allowance Information in claims for DLA’. I submitted a Freedom of Information request to get the guide mentioned.
Draconian incapacity benefit tests are failing the sick
Melissa Viney
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 29 July 2010 13.30 BST
A disturbing sleight of hand within the revised benefits system has been performed on the electorate and particularly on the sick and disabled. It goes like this: Labour replaced the previous incapacity benefit (IB) with the new employment support allowance (ESA) in 2008 and introduced a fiendishly hard new medical test, followed by members of the government applauding their success in identifying record numbers of incapacity benefits claimants who are fit for work.
• Seriously ill people are inappropriately subjected to the WCA
• The assessment does not effectively measure fitness for work
• Application of the assessment is producing inappropriate outcomes
• This article was commissioned after the author contacted us via the You tell us page.
i recieve incapacity benefit due to suffering with mental health problems. reading this as got me worried the dwp will put many people with mental health problems on jsa. For me personally they may aswell kill me. I was made homeless about 4 years ago through no fault of my own. I now live a long way from family and friends, which leaves me without any sort of support. I am expecting my claim for IB to be reviewed as its been nearly 18 months since the last time I filled out the form. I assume they still review claims after 18 months?. the last letter the dwp sent said something about a review mid october. how long before do they send the forms?. it must be soon if they want it back by october!!
Well my mental health issues can make it impossible for me to leave the house, infact since finding my current property 3 years ago, I have made no friends and its been weeks and weeks since I last saw another human. Thank god for the internet and for internet shops. I'd starve without access to food delivery shops and microwave meals!
Anyhow the last time I completed the dwp assessment form I didn't need to attend an interview and the dwp didnt ring. If the dwp check with my doctor this time, they will find out I have only been to the docs 2-3 times in the past 18 months. Its not that I dont need the help but I gave up with the doctors in this area. After seeing a shrink, being put on one medication and then another, only to be told a counsillor is my best option, it became a huge stress. After bothering the docs about this type of therapy for months and months, they never managed to arrange anything. I wonder how lack of input from a claimants GP will affect me and others in a similar situation?. will the dwp stick us all on jsa without looking into why we stopped attending the doctors. I know as crazy as it sounds I will smash my head straight into the desk if I have to attend an assessment! and see what they make of that. Also I hate telephones and speaking on the phone aswell. They have said everyone will get a phone call, but how will they break the bad news to people that can't use phones?
It looks like the goverment have got to make the sick sicker just to make a few quid. it makes you mad when its the goverments fault for using our tax money in a care free manner.. I mean bailing out bankers and paying for a BS war isn't our choice or fault. And yes I like many people that get IB have paid tax in the past. That and the fact most of us on benefits have families where the majority work and tax. I just hate the scrounger label. If you take the population of the UK which is around the 53 million mark. and then minus the 3million unemployed. that leaves 50 million people are paying x amount of £££s every hour of the day. even if you say the goverment rake in £1 per hour, thats £50 million each and every hour. what the hell do they do with that lot. Apart from spend it on war, kitkats and porn I cant figure it out. surely the country doesnt cost £50 million per hour to run?
Sorry for leaving the subject of this post. thanks
The Pension. Disability and Carers Service. Part of the DWP deals with the relationship between ESA & DLA as far back as there meeting of January 2010. Click here for the meeting minutes.
The Decision Makers Guide, amended February 2010 is available here.
A list of technical guides is available by clicking here and covers ESA, WCA etc.