DLA and ESA

Please can anyone help me? My husband has been awarded medium level DLA and full level mobility. He is recovering from a brain operation (having experienced heart failure during op) and has two episodes of cholecystitis and waits for gall bladder surgery. We have been sumoned for an ESA medical and I have some concerns.
Should the ESA decision maked decide that he is not eligible for ESA is it possible they will withraw the DLA? The DLA has been awarded until 2013. Also he does have a job and employee health have decided they will be unable to help him return to work until he has had anothr 3-6 months to recover. What happens if ESA doctors say otherwise? His eye sight has been badly affected by yhe brain surgery and he has extreme fatigue. What will happen if they think he should not go into the support group as he is 62 and I understand that peope over 60 do not have to take the follow up test regarding capability for work.
Do not want to lose benefits but do not want to 'roll over' in feart of this drachonian system. All helpful responses very welcome.

Magic

Medical assessment reports for ESA can be used to decide entitlement to DLA. However, if your husband has been awarded DLA recently (within the last six months) until 2013 on the strength of medical evidence, it may be difficult for the ESA medical assessment report to supersede the medical evidence used in deciding the DLA claim.

In any event, DLA and ESA are two entirely separate benefits with completely different qualifying conditions. DLA is concerned with a person's disability and the care/mobility needs that arise out of their disability. ESA is so they say, intended to focus on a person's ability rather than disability and is a work-related allowance. DLA is not, although the government seem to think it is work-related, hence the reassessment process due to commence in 2013.

I have also seen a number of Upper Tribunal Judges decisions which deprecate the use of the cross-referral of medical reports to decide entitlement to each benefit. The main reason for this is because of the different qualifying criteria, and the IB/ESA medical reports used to decide DLA claims are of little probative value. Indeed, I tried to use an IB report to substantiate a DLA claim/appeal and it was dismissed by the Commissioner (now a UT judge) for the very reasons I have mentioned.

On the question as to what ESA group your husband will be allocated, if he is not placed in the support group he may be placed in the work-related activity group or not entitled to ESA at all. If he is placed in the WRAG, he will be subject to the ESA regime until he reaches the date which is the qualifying age for pension credit (for which you don't have to qualify), which is being increased year by year to reflect a change in the state retirement age.

Thank you for this substantial reply. It is helpful. I have written to my MP asking for his advice as on how to deal with the prospect of the ESA contradicting the opinion of doctors who know my husband well. I will post any intersting response on the forum. Still unsure as to how the ESA can force my husband's employer to let him return to work when their medical advisor says he is unfit. Know we are in the realm of sureal but malevolent instrument.