With huge thanks to Benefits and Work, I completed the ESA form for my brother in May, and sent it off with supporting evidence. He had encephalitis as a baby and sustained long-term brain damage. A few weeks back, in mid-July, it was confirmed by letter that he would continue to be in the Support Group. He did not have to attend any medical assessment or Work Capability Assessment - it was just on the basis of the form.
I phoned DWP to query another matter, and during the course of the call the operator said my brother would be getting ESA long-term, and would not have to be reassessed.
My question is: there is nothing on the decision letter to say the duration of the award of ESA. Or that he is exempt from reassessment. According to the text of the announcement below,
Claimants will be told if they will not be reassessed following their WCA - but in the case of my brother, he did not attend a WCA!
So should I pursue DWP for confirmation of his reassessment position or just lie low and be glad of the good outcome? I'm worried we will have to go through all this again when he transfers to Universal Credit.
Grateful for any advice.
www.gov.uk/government/publications/emplo...om-29-september-2017