Thousands of severely ill and disabled people are being left without crucial benefits because officials are sending “misleading” letters to their doctors saying they no longer need supply medical evidence for patients declared fit for work.
Campaigners and MPs have called for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) form letter to be scrapped after claimants appealing against a fit-for-work decision were left in dire straights after their GPs refused to provide “fit notes” because they had been told by officials they didn’t need to.
People denied Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) are entitled to receive the benefit during an appeal of the decision – if their GP confirms their medical condition means they cannot work.
But letters sent to doctors from the DWP, a template of which was seen by HuffPost UK, tell practitioners not to give out “fit notes” for any reason which relates to ESA.
“Please do not give [the claimant] any more fit notes relating to [their] disability/health condition for ESA purposes,” the letter reads.
Despite the wording of the letter, a DWP spokesperson insisted they were “not intended to dissuade them from issuing fit notes for ESA appeal purposes”.
“To claim otherwise is inaccurate,” they said.
The letter, called an ESA65B, said that GPs should encourage patients in their “efforts to return to, or start, work”.
An anti-poverty charity said the letters showed the DWP had overstepped the mark in its contact with medical professionals.
Raji Hunjan, of the Zacchaeus 2000 Trust, a London-based anti-poverty charity, said: “It is not for the DWP to interfere with the GP and their patient. Sending these letters directly to the GP, without even informing the patient, is putting doctors in a position which both undermines their role and puts their patients at risk.”
The charity said one of its clients, “Alba”, who lives with crippling arthritis and cannot walk properly, failed her assessment for ESA in July last year. Despite previously having been signed off work due to her condition, Alba was told a new note was not possible after her doctor received the letter from the DWP.
The charity said Alba was worried about not receiving ESA pending an appeal of her failed assessment and that her only option now is to apply for Universal Credit.
The trust said another of its clients said he ran up rent arrears and attended food banks after his GP denied a fit note during his appeal.
Frank Field, the chair of the Commons work and pensions committee, has also raised the issue in a letter to now-former disabilities minister Sarah Newton.
“The previous version of the letter explicitly stated that GPs should provide fit notes to claimants who are appealing a decision,” Field wrote. “There is a risk that this change will leave severely ill and disabled claimants unable to obtain ESA to which they are entitled pending appeal.”
At its peak, some 22,000 mandatory reconsideration appeals against ESA decisions were lodged in March 2017. The figure was around 9,000 in January 2019, the latest month for which figures are available.
The DWP has hinted at a further change in the letter’s wording. A spokesperson said: “We are committed to ensuring our communication is clear, which is why the wording of this letter was cleared by both the British Medical Association and the Royal College of General Practitioners. However, we will, of course, consider feedback when revising the letter.”