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Back to index of Nerve 18 - Summer 2011
Benefits Column
I have been on the sick for some years, claiming Income Support. Nothing in my circumstances has changed for a long time. Now I have had a letter from the DWP asking me to go to a medical examination. Do I have to go? Why have I been asked after all this time?
The government is trying to remove as many people as possible from sickness benefits, which include Income Support, Incapacity Benefit, and Employment Support Allowance (a relatively new benefit which replaces Income Support for new claimants). They are arranging for more people to be summoned to medical examinations, with a view to reassessing their benefit. A lot of people are being found ‘fit for work’ when they are not.
If you don’t go to a medical examination and you don’t phone the DWP to say why you were unable to go, they will stop your benefit. In that sense they are compulsory. The important thing to know about sickness benefit (all three kinds) is that they are awarded on a points system. You should have been sent a questionnaire before your medical which asks about what you are physically able to do – how long can you stand up for, how many metres can you walk, do you have impaired vision or hearing and so on. The questionnaire for Employment Support Allowance is a little different than the one for the other two benefits, but the purpose of both is the same: to decide what points you should get, according to how incapacitated you are.
You have to score 15 points or more to be allowed to stay on the sick. That is, you have to score yourself that much when you fill in the questionnaire. Then you have to persuade the person who carries out your medical examination that you should score the same. This is more difficult than it used to be because Atos, the company that carries out medical examinations for the DWP, is said to be paid according to the percentage of claimants it knocks off sickness benefits.
But do not be too pessimistic. Make sure you fill in the questionnaire carefully, and tick all the boxes that apply to you. Take someone with you to the medical, and have them stay and make notes. They should record exactly what answer you give to each question you are asked, and which tests the medical examiner carried out. It is common for medical examiners to record people’s answers, or the results of physical tests, inaccurately.
If you have your Income Support stopped after the medical, appeal against the decision straight away and then claim Employment Support Allowance. You will be able to get this while you are waiting for your appeal to be heard. Then find a specialist welfare rights adviser to help you put your case together. You can find organisations in your area that have a legal aid contract for welfare rights services by looking at the Community Legal Service website.
If you want more information about the points system, the problems with medical examinations, and a DIY guide to running your appeal, email me at toxteth86[at]yahoo.co.uk.
Also see ATOS demonstration
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