ESA Medical ?

hi all
i am asking on behalf of a friend of mine and any help would be great!
my friend filled in his esa medical form about 2 months ago if that and because of his condition depression,anxiety,mood swings etc they asked him for a medical so he went and of course was very scared. he filled in the old esa medical form but when he got to the medical they tested him and the new rules of esa as from today. he went for his medical about 2 weeks ago and got a letter saying her had failed the medical 2 last weekend
is this right?? he filled in old esa form and tested/interviewed on the new rules?
also any help with appeals would be of great help also. he has asked for GL24 yesterday and still waiting for it but what decriptors should he use?
thanks

Hi Sandra

How do you know that they applied the new test?

If he filled in an old ESA50 they should apply the old test even though the medical or decision may have taken place when the new rules were in force.

I would suggest that he phones JCP and asks for a copy of his ESA85 medical report; an essential document to have when appealing. He will be able to confirm from the descriptors on this report whether the correct test has been applied.

You can find a guide on appealing ESA decisions in the members' area.

Regards

Derek

hi thanks
i asked him which form did you fill in and he said the old form but when he went to the medical the Atos doctor said they would be using the new test to do the medical. they did send a statement of reasons to say why he had failed but he is not sure which test the statement refers too.

Hi Sandra

The medical report will confirm which test was applied. My understanding is that the new forms were sent to claimants from 14/03/11 and anybody sent an old ESA50 will be assessed under the old test.

He has nothing to lose by appealing and it should be mentioned on appeal if indeed the wrong test was applied.

Good luck

Derek

If the person in question was subject to the 'new' WCA when the previous legislation was still in force, this would render the medical assessment null and void, and the ESA decision maker could not promulgate a valid decision on entitlement.

The new legislation was not enacted until 28 March 2011, so the WCA and subsequent adverse decision would have no legal force. Consequently, this could be easily overturned on appeal (if it ever got that far) by a single judge sitting alone, as the correct procedure was not followed in law.

The whole original WCA procedure would then have to be undertaken all over again.

where would i find if they used the wrong test on the papers?