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DWP appealing against the tribunals' decision

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7 years 7 months ago #165039 by Vicky
It has taken 6 months from the initial DWP letter to my tribunal. I have now received a letter from DWP saying that they are going to appeal against the tribunal's decision.
I can't see anything on your site about this.
I have reached the stage where I can't cope with any more of this. My mental health has been worse since the first letter stopping my life time award of DLA. Now this...I don't feel I can go on.

Is this behaviour from DWP common practice? What can I do?

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7 years 7 months ago #165047 by Gordon

Vicky wrote: It has taken 6 months from the initial DWP letter to my tribunal. I have now received a letter from DWP saying that they are going to appeal against the tribunal's decision.
I can't see anything on your site about this.
I have reached the stage where I can't cope with any more of this. My mental health has been worse since the first letter stopping my life time award of DLA. Now this...I don't feel I can go on.

Is this behaviour from DWP common practice? What can I do?


I am so sorry to hear this, but it may not be as bad as it sounds.

The DWP cannot just appeal the Decision because they do not like it the result, they can only do so if they can show that there was an Error of Law in the making of the Decision, even if they think that this is the case, the Upper Tier Tribunal may not agree with them.

Unfortunately, it can take some time before the matter is resolved and your award will not be implemented until the DWP have exhausted the process.

What is an Error of Law?

You will receive the same documentation as the DWP and can argue against any appeal that they might make.

The first stage of the process is for the DWP to request a Statement of Reasons from the Judge of your hearing this may take 6-8 weeks to be produced.

Gordon

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems

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7 years 7 months ago #165129 by Vicky
Thanks Gordon.
Since a barrister was on the tribunal surely he would have been keeping to the letter of the law?
I was awarded a unlimited award which said that it "was inappropriate to fix a term". Could it be this? Or is it impossible to know?
I contacted my MP and subsequently received a phone call today from the DWP complaints' resolution dept. Apparently, the person who has challenged this will be phoning me tomorrow to give her reasons.
Should I tape the phone call?
Have any other members been put through this process. I'd be interested to hear from anyone who has.
Thanks

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7 years 7 months ago #165152 by Gordon

Vicky wrote: Thanks Gordon.
Since a barrister was on the tribunal surely he would have been keeping to the letter of the law?
I was awarded a unlimited award which said that it "was inappropriate to fix a term". Could it be this? Or is it impossible to know?
I contacted my MP and subsequently received a phone call today from the DWP complaints' resolution dept. Apparently, the person who has challenged this will be phoning me tomorrow to give her reasons.
Should I tape the phone call?
Have any other members been put through this process. I'd be interested to hear from anyone who has.
Thanks


Errors of Law are rarely due to the law being applied incorrectly, although it does happen, it's far more often the case that there are issues about how the Decision was reached, as an example; if the panel decided that you had no problem with Preparing Food, but asked you no questions about the difficulties you have doing this during the hearing. Their failure to ask questions about this would likely be an Error as they would be unable to explain how they reached their Decision, which is a legal requirement.

Don't expect too much from the DWP person phoning you, if indeed they do, I would be surprised if they could say more than " we don't understand how the panel reached their Decision", it won't be until you have both received the Statement of Reasons that they will be able to make a more detailed answer, if indeed there is an Error in the first place.

Also, there is very little that your MP can do about this situation, it is a legal process and they are prohibited from interfering with it.

Gordon

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems

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7 years 7 months ago #165738 by Vicky
Thanks Gordon.
DWP are contesting the mobility component about going out. The tribunal awarded me (f) for this descriptor. Due to my mental health problems I am unable to leave the house unless accompanied and also need someone to be with me all the time I'm away from the house. This was well documented in my PIP form, by my carer and by two consultants.
The woman from DWP who spoke to me said that (f) doesn't apply to me because I don't have a sensory or cognitive impairment.
I am unable to find anything in either the PIP form or accompanying booklet which even alludes to this.
I'd be interested to know what you think, Gordon. Also, have any other members encountered this additional hurdle?

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7 years 7 months ago #165773 by Gordon

Vicky wrote: Thanks Gordon.
DWP are contesting the mobility component about going out. The tribunal awarded me (f) for this descriptor. Due to my mental health problems I am unable to leave the house unless accompanied and also need someone to be with me all the time I'm away from the house. This was well documented in my PIP form, by my carer and by two consultants.
The woman from DWP who spoke to me said that (f) doesn't apply to me because I don't have a sensory or cognitive impairment.
I am unable to find anything in either the PIP form or accompanying booklet which even alludes to this.
I'd be interested to know what you think, Gordon. Also, have any other members encountered this additional hurdle?


OK this is a tricky one and I'm afraid I think it likely that the DWP will take it all the way.

The DWP view is that (f) is an issue of navigation and that it is therefore limited by cognitive or sensory issues only. There have been 3 UTT Decision on this point, one fully supported the DWP view, one found that mental health issues could also prevent the following of the route and the third primarily supported navigation but not completely.

If you have a look at the PIP Claim guide the issues are covered in more detail in the Going Out section.

Gordon

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