Transfering ESA claim to Northern Ireland Knightmare

[obiter dictum]

I am staying with friends at the moment in Northern Ireland

 

I currently claim ESA in England for which i get the higher rate and have had the latest 12 month ATOS inquisition a month ago in england

 

I will be staying in Northern Ireland for a considerable time so i contacted the DWP to transfer my address details

 

I have been told i will need to close down my claim and reapply over in Northern Ireland, that means another ATOS run around, lower rate entitlement etc etc

 

This cannot be right as all i want to do is change address, my circumstances have not changed

[Belfaster]

I am staying with friends at the moment in Northern Ireland

 

I currently claim ESA in England for which i get the higher rate and have had the latest 12 month ATOS inquisition a month ago in england

 

I will be staying in Northern Ireland for a considerable time so i contacted the DWP to transfer my address details

 

I have been told i will need to close down my claim and reapply over in Northern Ireland, that means another ATOS run around, lower rate entitlement etc etc

 

This cannot be right as all i want to do is change address, my circumstances have not changed

 

Hi there, I am sure you have been misled by the DWP as the Law Centre here in Belfast managed to get the legislation changed regarding claims being transferred between GB and N Ireland, this was done last year. Have you contacted the Social Security Agency in N Ireland and explained the situation? By the way, the new legislation covers both Contribution related ESA and Income Related ESA.

[obiter dictum]

Any chance of a link to this reciprocal agreement so i can reference it, i am just hitting a brick wall all the time, and that is from the English and Northern Ireland DWP. They have not a clue or simply are not interested looking it up

[Belfaster]

Any chance of a link to this reciprocal agreement so i can reference it, i am just hitting a brick wall all the time, and that is from the English and Northern Ireland DWP. They have not a clue or simply are not interested looking it up

 

I have sent you a PM regarding the matter.

[obiter dictum]

Thanks

[**Margaret**]

:capquest worst knightmare:

 

I think you've been misled by Work n Pensions as well, probably cos employment n support is a devolved issue in Northern Ireland and to date (unless it's happened very recently) Strormont have refused to align their legislation with Westminister.

 

What has happened recently, which should help your situation, is that efforts from a Northern Ireland law agency have persuaded Social Security to introduce an extra statutory scheme for people who move from Britain to Northern Ireland with live claims for ESA. The scheme applies to both contribution based and income related ESA;

 

http://www.lawcentreni.org/news/recent-news/1-news/1144-transferring-esa-claims-from-gb-to-northern-ireland.html

 

Another option, if your award is contribution flavoured and includes the support component, is to export it, that is, continue to have it paid by Work n Pensions.

 

https://www.gov.uk/claim-benefits-abroad/illness-injury-and-disability-benefits

 

To lessen the impact of the I suggest you give the contact centre a miss and write (via 'signed for' delivery) to the exportability team at Blackpool.

 

 

Best wishes, Margaret.

 

 

 

 

[obiter dictum]

Fantastic

 

Do you have the Blackpool address

[obiter dictum]

Do i still keep my current ESA live that is based in England, even though i am now in Northern Ireland until they start talking to each other

[IdaInFife]

Exportability Team

Telephone: +44 (0)125 333 1044

Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm

Find out about call charges

 

Exportability Co-ordinator

Room B201

Pension, Disability and Carers Service

Warbreck House

Warbreck Hill Road

Blackpool

FY2 0YE

United Kingdom

[obiter dictum]

Fantastic

[**Margaret**]

:capquest worst knightmare:

 

'Do I still keep my current ESA live ......'

 

For exportability, if it's based on your national insurance contributions (with all other things being equal) yes. Might be a bit of a problem in that you appear to have left England without telling Jobcentreplus. Suggest you emphasize that you tried to phone but got confused by the call centre.

 

Should you run into trouble, I'd suggest contacting the Law Centre in Belfast, possibly through local welfare rights, for help with the extra statutory scheme.

 

Margaret.

 

 

[obiter dictum]

I am a bit late in updating so:

 

I followed the advice given by Margaret and my other Guardian Angel and contacted the Belfast Law Centre. All it took was one letter from their solicitor after hitting brick walls all the time. My ESA is fully up and running under the reciprocal agreement.

[mikeymack2002]

Good news for you then. Don't forget to keep the award letters as you may need them at a later date....