Imaginary Treatment Required. ESA Regs

The request was partially successful.

Dear Department for Work and Pensions,

With regards to the Employment and Support Allowance (Amendment) Regulations 2012 coming into force on January 28th it makes provisions for the following..

With medication and other treatment as long as the assessor believes that trying a new therapy or treatment might reduce the risk to health if they are found not to have limited capability for work , there’s no need for evidence that the treatment will help. On the basis of assumption only a claimants benefit may be stopped.

The “imaginary wheelchair test” has been extended for many more aids, including guide dogs and false limbs, even if the claimants do not own or may not be able to use those aids.

1) As there are no stated limitations in the regulations, could you provide extracts of any consultation process and/or guidance sufficient to indicate the intent of the regulations. with regards to ….

a) What limitations does the DWP consultation process or guidance put on this, e.g. would a person with chronic breathing problems be expected to take oxygen cylinders on his journey to work and in the workplace, or bed hoists etc..?

b) In the amended regulations, as there is no need for evidence that the treatment will help, then what are the DWP procedures or guidelines if the treatment is not available, or makes the person worse? The regulations make no provisions for this but if the treatment is not carried out, then the claimants may lose their benefit.

c) What is the situation if the individual refuses treatment on religious grounds, or under their human rights. Exemptions are not included in these amended regulations.. If a person is not at liberty to decline to receive medical treatment, this could potentially violate article eight of the Human Rights Act (the right to a private life) and article three (freedom from inhuman and degrading treatment). Similarly this could also breach article nine, which preserves the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.

d) What assessment has been carried out prior to the introduction of these amended regulations regarding the impact on vulnerable claimants, the Equalities Act and with regards to the Human Rights issues, and who was involved in these assessments.

e) Could you provide any extracts of consultation or guidelines sufficient to show if any consideration was given with regards to proportionality and necessity in these regulatory requirements.

Yours faithfully,

B. Adams

DWP freedom-of-information-requests, Department for Work and Pensions

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John Slater left an annotation ()

You might also consider looking at it from the "Rule of Law" perspective. Whilst the courts will not challange Parlilaments right to create law they do believe they had a role in interpreting the law.

Dicey (an early proponent of constitutional law) highlighted three aspects of the rule of law:

1. No one can be punished or made to suffer except for a breach of law proved in an ordinary court.
2. No one is above the law and everyone is equal before the law regardless of social, economic or political status.
3. The rule of law includes the results of judicial decisions determining the rights of private persons.

JUSTICE, an all party law reform and human rights organisation, published a report called the Future of the Rule of Law (2007):
1. Adherence to the rule of law as a cornerstone of domestic and foreign policy.
2. A right of equality for all before and under the law.
3. A right of access to justice for all.
4. Protection for due process and the right to a fair trial.
5. Independence of the judiciary and legal profession.
6. Greater powers of Parliamentary scrutiny.
7. Greater protection for the rights of individuals within the European Union.

The late Lord Chief Justice, Tom Bingham, specified seven criteria by which we should assess a legal system (the Rule of Law):

1. The law must be accessible and so far as possible intelligible, clear and predictable.
2. Questions of legal right and liability should ordinarily be resolved by application of the law and not by the exercise of discretion.
3. The laws of the land should apply equally to all, save to the extent that objective differences [such as mental incapacity] justify differentiation.
4. Ministers and public officers at all levels must exercise the powers conferred on them in good faith, fairly, for the purpose for which the powers were conferred, without exceeding the limits of such powers.
5. The law must afford adequate protection of fundamental human rights.
6. Means must be provided for resolving, without prohibitive cost or inordinate delay, bona fide civil disputes which the parties themselves are unable to resolve; and
7. Adjudicative procedures provided by the state should be fair.

I think the DWP will hit a lot of problems at Tribunal with this latest attack on disabled people.

B. Adams left an annotation ()

Thanks for that, In effect these amendments were quietly sneaked through..

They tried this sort of thing once before in the Howker case, when they mislead the Social Security Advisory Committee and the regulation was declared void. This time the Secretary of State has obtained the agreement of the Social Security Advisory Committee that proposals in respect of these Regulations should not be referred to them. I don't know how they managed that with so many serious issues affecting claimants.. I hope they are held accountable for that.

The worst part of this is that as the DM has little or no medical knowledge, there will be a total reliance on the word of a HCP. That will determine the decision whether it is right or wrong and the benefit can be withdrawn without any discussion with the claimant.

As John says, there are going to be a lot of problems in the tribunals with this one. I can't understand why this sort of thing should be allowed when they haven't even sorted the last mess out.

Dear DWP freedom-of-information-requests,

Your response is late.. I request an Internal Review...

Yours sincerely,

B. Adams

DWP freedom-of-information-requests, Department for Work and Pensions

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DWP DWP Medical Services Correspondence, Department for Work and Pensions

2 Attachments

Dear Mr Adams

Please see your FOI response attached

Kind regards

Health & Disability Assessments (Operations)/Department for Work and Pensions/Room 306/Block 31/Norcross/Norcross Lane/Blackpool/FY5 3TA

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GEOFFREY REYNOLDS (Account suspended) left an annotation ()

The University of Derby must be heralded for their ATOS HCP accreditation. From nurse or physio to an expert in the wave of Bill Gunnyeons hand.

The worthless certificate that is not recognised by any of the three major health bodies,actually allows them to make, what could be, life or death decisions on a claimant.

I have never heard anything so revolting in my life, it beggars belief!

The sooner this bunch of comedians are disbanded, the better.

Death rates caused by the inept ATOS, in league with their twisted paymaster, the DWP,
are already becoming a humiliating nightmare.....

What will this worthless piece of paper bring?

You can spot a mistake by a bricklayer, sadly, the DWP, bury theirs............

Dear Department for Work and Pensions,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Department for Work and Pensions's handling of my FOI request 'Imaginary Treatment Required. ESA Regs'.

I requested an Internal Review on Feb 20th... I now request an internal review as to why I didn't get an internal review..

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address:
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/im...

Yours faithfully,

B. Adams

DWP freedom-of-information-requests, Department for Work and Pensions

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please contact us.

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DWP DWP Medical Services Correspondence, Department for Work and Pensions

1 Attachment

Mr Adams

Please see attached reply to your Freedom of Information request

Many Thanks

Business Management Team | Department for Work and Pensions | Contracted Customer Services Directorate | DWP Operations | Room 306, Block 3, Norcross, Norcross Lane, Blackpool FY5 3TA | www.dwp.gov.uk | Please consider the environment before printing

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