Claire's Story

Claire  (name changed for confidentiality) is a 53-year-old female who lives with her husband and 2 non-dependent children aged 22 and 23 in their owned property.  Claire stopped working in 2015 following a hysterectomy but had lost her Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) payments although her doctor had said she was not fit to go to work and stress seemed to be deteriorating her situation. She was becoming more confused, mixing items up, impulse buying as she forgot to take a list.

Claire was in receipt of contribution-based ESA and attended a medical where she received 6 points- a decision she wanted to challenge due to her doctor’s advice. The client had recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease after she applied for ESA. She received incorrect advice from the DWP about challenging the decision which delayed the mandatory reconsideration request.

We informed Claire to submit a late mandatory reconsideration explaining the reasons for the late submission. We also identified that she needed to be in the ESA support group if any payments were to be made and she was to receive National Insurance credits. We also identified that she may be eligible for PIP and supported her with the claim.

The mandatory reconsideration was not overturned by the DWP so we restarted the process of gathering medical evidence for the tribunal service. However, after a medical Claire was awarded standard daily living - £59.70 per week and enhanced mobility - £62.25 per week, reducing some of the financial burdens.

The caseworker attended the tribunal with Claire which was a distressing and confusing experience for her. Subsequently, she was awarded support group for 2 years to be backdated from when her ESA stopped and she has been re-assessed every 2 years since and continues to be placed in the support group.  This is a weekly income of £113.59.

We informed Claire about the need for power of attorney and family trust that they were going to organise as they understood they may never need it but need to protect their assets and have someone acting in her best interests.

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