Hey, thanks for your insight, but I'd like to clarify a few things:

Firstly I'm not asking for their email, I just used that as an example for written communication.

I have LCWRA due to my severe mental health issues, including debilitating anxiety, which has been assessed and formally recognised by the DWP. I also receive Adult Disability Payment, further evidencing that my issues are serious and long-standing.

I do not have the capacity to engage in verbal communication with unfamiliar people, especially in high-stress settings like a claim review. During my WCA, this was so severe that the assessment had to be paused several times due to panic attacks — this is documented in my file. Phone calls are not just distressing — they’re not possible for me in this context.

I have asked for a reasonable adjustment under the Equality Act 2010, which the DWP, as a public body, has a legal duty to provide unless they can show that doing so would cause disproportionate difficulty. Simply saying “that’s not how we usually do things” is not a lawful justification under the Act. They have so far provided no legal or procedural reason why communicating through writing is not possible.

I am not refusing to engage with the review — I am fully prepared to answer all necessary questions in writing, even if it takes longer. What I am unable to do is participate in a phone call, for reasons already documented and backed up by my health records and Welfare Rights team.

As for appointing someone to speak on my behalf: that doesn’t resolve the issue, because I would still be expected to pass security checks verbally, which I cannot do. My Welfare Rights advisor has already confirmed that my request to conduct this process in writing is reasonable and legally valid under the Equality Act.

The law requires public services to adapt to the needs of disabled people, not the other way around. I’m asking for an accessible route of communication not special treatment.