One very last chance to stop the harsh new ESA test

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From: Benefits and Work

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Sent: 28 March 2011 21:58

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Subject: One very last chance to stop the harsh new ESA test

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www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/news/latest-news/1336-one-very-last-chance-for-you-to-stop-the-harsh-new-esa-test-

Dear Subscriber

In spite of the fact that the

harsh new work capability assessment (WCA), the medical test for employment and

support allowance (ESA), became law today, there is still a chance of getting

it cancelled.

But it does depend on you urgently attempting to persuade your MP to get off

their . . . seat and do something useful before they go off on their

Easter holidays next week.

Labour leader Ed Miliband and 7 Labour MPs tabled an early day motion on 23

March ‘praying’ for the new WCA to be annulled. New regulations like

these can be overturned by a vote for up to 40 days after they were laid.

Because the DWP messed up the laying of the regulations and had to lay them

again, the 40 days does not run out until 6 April.

There is a huge irony in the labour party challenging the harsh new WCA when

they actually drew it up themselves, but didn’t have time to implement it

before being booted out of power. The line labour is taking to justify

their u-turn is that the recommendations in the Harrington report should

be implemented before any consideration is given to further changes to

ESA.

And, whatever the reason for labour’s change of tactic, there is a chance that

there could be a debate, a slim possibility there could be a vote and a tiny

chance that the government could be defeated. We know that a similar process in

the House of Lords ended in feeble surrender last week, but a tiny chance is

better than no hope whatsoever.

So, please consider contacting your MP as a matter of urgency and ask them to

support EDM 1651 to try to halt this shameful new test which discriminates

against many seriously sick and disabled claimants including, for example,

blind people with guide dogs.

You can view

the early day motion here.

You can send

a standard form email to your MP objecting to the changes by entering

your details on the Leonard Cheshire website. You can read and approve

the whole email before it is sent, once you have entered your details.

Alternatively, you can email

your MP objecting specifically to the provisions relating to visually impaired

people using the RNIB site.

Or you can fax

your MP from here.

NEW ESA GUIDES

We do apologise that it’s taking us longer than we’d hoped to get the new WCA

guides published - the revised test is as confusing, complicated and

unfair as its predecessor.

But the DWP’s WCA Handbook (180 pages), which is the guidance given to Atos

health professionals, and our guide to Understanding ESA (43 pages) can now be downloaded

from the members area. (Members

only).

Please note: the site may run slowly or even crash at times on Tuesday

given the size of these files and the number of people likely to be downloading

them

The guide to qualifying for both the work-related activity group and the

support group on physical health grounds (73 pages)will be available from

sometime on Tuesday 29 March. The mental health and learning difficulties

guide will be available on Thursday 31 March.

We will also be publishing an extended guide to ESA appeals within the next two

months, but in the meantime the current appeals guide still applies.

We welcome suggestions and feedback about the new guides. You can email

us at info@... Unless, of course, the new WCA is

annulled next week, in which case we won’t care what anyone thinks because

we’ll be removing them from the site.

Now, please do go and give your MP – for whom the expenses regime has just been

relaxed because it was considered too complex, time-consuming and unfair

- a poke before they go off on their 3 week Easter holiday next Tuesday .

Which is followed by a 2 week Whitsun holiday at the end of May, 7 weeks summer

holiday from mid-July and then nearly 4 weeks off for party conferences from

mid- September.

You can quite understand why they don’t have time to fill in complicated claim

forms, can’t you?

Good luck,

Steve Donnison

Benefits and Work Publishing Ltd

Company registration No. 5962666

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© 2011 Steve Donnison

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