Tribunals: A day in the life
I attended a PIP Appeal today with one of my clients. In 2020 he had been awarded the daily living component of PIP for a period of two years, but in 2022, after completing his PIP Award Review and, despite his disabilities not changing at all, he was not awarded it. In fact, he went from 10 points for daily living to 4 points. I did his Mandatory Reconsideration and, something that I have never experienced before, he lost 2 points and was only awarded 2 points! Not a good result and a bit of a mystery.
I completed an SSCS1 form for him to lodge an Appeal and then, when the Bundle of papers arrived, I did his submissions, these explain which descriptors we are arguing and how many points we feel he should be awarded for each one. I think it is important to do these in as great a detail as possible; the point of these is so the Tribunal know which descriptors we are arguing.
The Tribunal are sent the Bundle of papers at least ten working days before the Appeal, so if they have the submissions it will show them our case so they will focus on the descriptors we are arguing; I will have made sure that the client has sent up their medical evidence with their application form, if not, we will have sent it up with the submissions, to back up our arguments.
As this client lives on his own, it was difficult to prove that he is not coping and really needs help, as he is functioning and managing to cook, have a shower, get dressed, etc. but he is not doing these things every day, often not every week, due to his mental health, so he is not doing them reliably, safely, repeatedly and in a timely manner, and he needs help.
The client was very anxious when I met him; he arrived at my office very early as he was so worried, and I took him to the Tribunal, which was good as I could chat to him on the way and try to help him to become calmer, and very importantly, I could make sure he got there!
The word I use to describe a Tribunal is ‘brutal’ as the claimant has to answer so many questions and say what they cannot do, not what they can, which is very hard. This Tribunal was not too bad, in fact it was slightly relaxed, which really helped my client and he was able to answer all the questions in depth. After this our client and myself went to the waiting room while the Tribunal deliberated.
Normally the client and myself go back in to the court room to hear the decision but this time, because the client was so anxious, the Judge kindly came to see us in the waiting room. He informed our client that his Appeal had been successful and he had been awarded the daily living component of PIP at the standard rate, so reinstating the original decision of 2017. This was an excellent result and the client was very happy. The award was for three years, so he is being given the time to try to get better without worrying about his benefits. The aim, as with most of my clients, is to get him well enough so he can gain employment, no doubt in a voluntary role to start with, but hopefully in a paid position in the future.
Although the Tribunal is a very challenging thing to go through, I really think it is the best way as the claimant is given a fair hearing. A Tribunal for a PIP Appeal is made up of a Judge, who is a solicitor, a GP and a disability officer and they are completely independent from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Quite often there is a presenting officer from the DWP in attendance, they sit on the same side as the claimant and the representative and may raise some points and ask questions.
For anyone lodging an Appeal, it is really important to make sure you send all your medical evidence in to His Majesty’s Court and Tribunal Service (HMCTS), always put your National Insurance Number on any correspondence plus the case reference number, and please keep a photocopy of it all. Anyone can request a copy of their medical notes from their GP’s health centre, if a claimant does not send the medical evidence in, the case may be adjourned due to a lack of evidence and will probably take in excess of another six weeks before it reaches the Tribunal again.
At the moment cases are taking 57 weeks to reach an appeal Tribunal, once the appeal has been lodged through completing the SSCS1 form.
Remember, if you need help or support please call me at One Stop Advocacy on 07464 106 903.