This is an HTML version of an attachment to the Freedom of Information request 'Meaning of the word 'declined', when used in ESA medical report form'.

To: Ms A Bellows 
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
 
 
DWP Business Management Team  
Health & Disability Assessments (Operations) 
xxx.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xxx.xx
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
15 February 2013 
 
 
 
Dear Ms Bellows 
Freedom of Information Act – Request for Information 
 
Our Reference: FOI 407 
 
Thank you for your Freedom of Information request which we received on 25 January 2013.  
 
You asked: 
 
With reference to ESA Work Capability Assessments 
      
     What does 'Declined' mean when used in an ESA medical report form? 
      
     Is there an option in LIMA other than free text which allows giving  reasons for a client 
to decline to attempt to do something or to  decline examination? Because of pain for 
example? 
      
     What do DM interpret 'Declined' to mean when seen in a medical  report and when 
there are no explanations? 
      
     How can 'Declined' be shown in a medical report when the available  LiMA 
documentation doesn’t list 'Declined' as an option for the HCP to select? 

 
The explanation does not appear in guidance, but in order to provide an explanation “decline” is 
a word used by our computer system (“LiMA”). It does not differentiate between ‘will not’ and 
‘cannot’
 perform a movement, but highlights the fact that it is not a movement a customer 
followed through on the day of the examination. It is intended as a descriptor to highlight to the 
Decision Maker at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) the customer's ability on the 
day of the assessment. 
 
Yours sincerely 
 
DWP Business Management Team 
Health & Disability Assessments (Operations) 
 
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