We expect the majority, if not all IB claimants, will need to complete an ESA50 form and to attend a WCA medical, before a decision is made as to whether they qualify for ESA
If you are sent an ESA form to fill in does that mean you have only a slim chance of getting in the support group
Last edit: 13 years 10 months ago by cdcdi1911. Reason: corrected quote formatting
The assessments for IB and ESA are different, so the DWP may well not have enough information on file to determine whether you are eligible for ESA and if so, which group.
I would anticipate that as the migration to ESA gets under way there will be various changes to how it happens based on how things go, so we won't know yet exactly how it will pan out.
The DWP appear to be treating all IB transfers as new claims for ESA, so the ESA50 is just the first part of the process, and is reasonably analagous to an IB50.
Based on the completed ESA50, some will immediately be put into the Support Group, those who aren't will have to attend a WCA medical, after this a further percentage will be put into the SG.
At the moment about 6% of ESA claims result in the claimant being put into the Support Group.
Gordon
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