How often are these assessments letters sent out?
Usually when your review time is. Usually this is every 1-3 years. For my conditions it's supposed to be longer (5-10) but they haven't followed this rule and I was too scared to challenge it in case they took everything away again.
Are they regular or random?
They can be random if they suspect fraud but that's pretty rare
You're never quite sure when your review period is up though, as for example with ESA you have a set period but after that finishes they still pay you and can call you in any time.
How strenuous are the assessments?
Very. Before you even have a face to face, they send you a 50 page form where you have to explain all your conditions and how they affect you to a strict criteria, like an exam.
They are looking for any reason to fail you, so for example if they say "can you cook", you can't say "yes, but it causes severe fatigue and I am bedbound for a day", because they will disregard anything after yes. You have to say "no, but if I do happen to cool this is how it affects me etc".
If you say "tired" instead of "exhausted" they will often use that against you also.
So as you can imagine, it's absolutely exhausting and demoralising filling out this massive form and having to be so precise about every aspect of your life, especially if you already struggle with forms or are obviously already struggling with day to day tasks as it is without having to fill in this horrible form.
Then when you have the face to face, most of the time they refuse a home visit even if you have reduced mobility but then they use the fact you came to centre for the appointment against you. They watch you as you walk to the assessment centre as if that has any bearing on how well you mobilise in day to day life (if you have a variable condition like I do, your pain/fatigue/difficulty walking might not show to an outside observer and it depends on previous activity that day/how far the walk is etc).
When you have the actual assessment they ask you questions designed to trip you up and use stupid things against you, like the fact that you picked up your bag. So as a claimant, you are scared stiff to be a human. Don't drink water, they'll claim that the fact that you lifted a cup to your lips means you can cook a meal on a regular basis. Don't make small talk, they'll claim you have no issues with socialising with people. Don't try and keep your anxiety calm, they'll claim you coped well with the assessment and that, therefore, your anxiety doesn't exist.
Then after this, you can request your report. 9/10 it will be full of half truths and lies. Like my last one which claimed I gave adequate eye contact when I wore dark sunglasses the whole time.
You'll cry and rage over this piece of shit report, and if the assessor seemed nice and helpful, you'll feel betrayed and confused. And then you'll waste even more time debunking every single thing and requesting a mandatory reconsideration.
Usually these will be responded to with almost instant rejection of th facts and you will be forced to wait 18 months for court, where a tribunal full of actual medical professionals will, 60% of the time, listen to your medical evidence and award you your money.
But that doesn't heal the trauma caused by the process, and if you're unlucky you get to start the whole process again as by the time you got the money, your time period is up and it's time to be reviewed again!
I'm sensing it's not as simple as providing an updated doctor's letter each time one comes up.
Nope, as you can see above. But also they ignore your medical evidence. They either contradict it (I guess all those years of our GPs and consultant specialists had in education were wasted, they should have just become a DWP 'health professional'!), ignore it or twist it.
So I can definitely see how it can be daunting and scary to receive and completely empathise with that.
Is it a reasonable opinion to think that these checks are necessary, but unnecessarily stressful and difficult for those that are receiving them.
The checks are not necessary unfortunately. Statistically, benefit fraud is very low. Certainly not high enough to justify the harm caused by these assessments.
People have literally killed themselves from the stress, people have died from starvation or diabetic comas, people have had heart attacks and worsening of their condition, people have been terminally ill and had their last days on Earth ruined by these assessments, people with mental health problems have worsening mental health from these assessments.
For example I already have CPTSD from severe childhood trauma, and these assessments have further traumatised me. Every time I have an assessment it sets me off into a spiral downwards.
If I didn't have a daughter, I would be at risk for killing myself because it's unbearable going through this again and again and you feel trapped because you honestly can't cope with working either.
This system also costs more than it saves:
The government has used people on benefits as scapegoats to get votes, and it's very affective, because people get angry at the thought of people getting 'something for nothing' (even though people on benefits pay tax too, and many people on benefits have paid into the system for years).
Also see here. 10 billion pounds of benefits go unclaimed per year. That's more than fraud costs!: