Getting Respresentation at an appeal

Derekq wrote: Hi Forum.
Have decided to go for an appeal in principal, looking at the GL24 it asks who your Representertive is ... here is the difficult part.

CAB do not go to appeals or at least my local offices do not ... tried to find "Welfare Rights" they seem to have vanished, I have seen that it is advised not to go to an appeal on your own and have a representertive with you, well its looks near on imposible to achive.

Anyone with knowledge of an organisation that possibly may help would be most gratefully appreciated

If you have the money there are solicitors I am sure who will do it for ££££££££££££'s

Has anyone here had representation at an appeal ? if so can they please shed any light on who helped them as a representertive and which organisation they came from.

Thanks, Derek

As you have already found out, Legal Aid for appeals to the Lower Tribunal has been stopped, so you may find it very difficult to find a representative.

With regard the GL24, you do not need to specify a representative in order to submit the form, if you find one after submitting it, you can simply notify the Tribunal Service.

Statistics show that having a representative can significantly increase the liklihood of your appeal being successful, however, welfare advice agencies undoubtedly cherry-pick the case they handle, so the figures may not be a real representation of the help they can give.

I would also say that many of our members have found themselves in a similar situation and have been able successfully take their claim to a Tribunal with just the aid of the guides.

Most Tribunal panel members say that more often than not, their decisions are based on the statements of the claimant on the day, rather than any specific evidence that they have submitted, something that any representative is unlikely to be of assistance with.

If you have not already done so have a look at our Appeal guide

www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/help-for-claimants/esa

The following fact sheet has more information about Tribunals

Disability Rights UK Factsheet - Appeals and reconsiderations

and the following FAQ explains how to prepare

Preparing for a Tribunal

Gordon