Summary:

Cutting off people’s employment and support allowance (ESA) benefits while DWP give a second opinion on their claim is adding an unnecessary administrative burden, causing stress and leaving some people with no income for a significant period of time.

When this new stage called mandatory reconsideration (MR) was introduced DWP said it should take on average two weeks, but Citizens Advice regularly see people waiting 6 weeks without a decision, and without payment of ESA. Some CAB advisors have reported not seeing a single client getting their MR back in two weeks.

During this period people are meant to be able to job seekers allowance (JSA) but we are seeing many who are finding this impossible.

Citizens Advice policy recommendation:

Continue to pay people ESA at the assessment rate during the mandatory reconsideration phase. This would prevent unnecessary hardship and allow DWP the time to get additional evidence they need. It would also save £162 in administration costs for every claimant who claims Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) and goes onto appeal.   We have had almost 8,000 signatures on our petition supporting this proposal.

CAB Briefing: Mandatory reconsideration in employment and support allowance

 

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