ESA Telephone Assesment - advice required please

[mikw]

Hello, Yesterday i received a letter from the Centre for Health and Disiability Assesments. It says i have to attend a Telephone Assesment next Tuesday morning.

This is regarding a work capability assesment that was postponed from December 2018 when i asked for it to be recorded. I wonder if anyone on these forums can help?

1. Can i ask for a telephone assesment to be recorded?

2. Are they really trying to find people fit to work at a time when sick and disabled people are shielding and shouldn't leave the house?

3. As this is regarding an ESA 50 that was submitted more than two years ago, am i to conduct the phone assesment with a view to that ESA 50 - or how i am now?

Any answers (and tips) will be very gratefully recieved. Needless to say, the receipt of this letter had made a stressful situation (life in general) much more so.

[nukecad]

Hi Mike,
Just for our info: Is this a new claim (albeit first made 2 years ago), or is it a reassessment?

1. Yes. It should be easy to record as it's being done by phone.
2. NO. They are not making any Fit for Work decisions at all. They are only assessing for LCWRA-Yes and LCWRA-No (Support Group or not).
3. The assessment has to be about as you are now.
   However if you have got better then you may have qualified when you applied whereas you don't now. The thing to do in that case is be assessed as you are now and then if necessary appeal that you you quailified earlier and it's the DWPs delay that didn't assess in a timely manner.

Just be truthful and remember that this is all about if you can do any work or work related activities. It's not so much about medical conditions other than they back up what you say you can't do.

[mikw]

Hi Mike,
Just for our info: Is this a new claim (albeit first made 2 years ago), or is it a reassessment?

1. Yes. It should be easy to record as it's being done by phone.
2. NO. They are not making any Fit for Work decisions at all. They are only assessing for LCWRA-Yes and LCWRA-No (Support Group or not).
3. The assessment has to be about as you are now.
   However if you have got better then you may have qualified when you applied whereas you don't now. The thing to do in that case is be assessed as you are now and then if necessary appeal that you you quailified earlier and it's the DWPs delay that didn't assess in a timely manner.

Just be truthful and remember that this is all about if you can do any work or work related activities. It's not so much about medical conditions other than they back up what you say you can't do.

Thank you for your reply, it's a reassesment, supposed to be done back in Decenber 2018 but i asked for it to be recorded then, and they said the machine had broken and they'd reschedule when fixed.

I am, currently, in the support group with LCWRA, i have had no changes in my conditon since the back then, just more mediciations really.