Appeals

Do you think the decision about your Housing or Council Tax Benefit is wrong?

If so this page will provide you with how to

• ask for an explanation
• dispute a decision about your benefit
• appeal against a decision about your benefit

Decision Notice

This is the notification of your benefit award that has been assessed by us. This letter will advise you whether you can appeal against the decision made. Special rules apply to landlords, who can only appeal about being paid Housing Benefit direct or recovery of overpayments.

Do you want more information about the decision made?

If you do, you must contact us straightaway. If you want us to look at the decision again or if you want to appeal against it, you must do so within one month of the date on the decision notice.

When you contact us you can ask us to explain the reasons for the decision. If you want more information to help you decide what to do, you can ask for a written statement of reasons for the decision. You must do this within one month of the date of the decision notice. A reply will be issued to you within 14 days of receipt.

If you still disagree with this decision you can

• ask us to look at it again, or
• appeal against the decision

Revisions

If you want us to look at the decision again and revise this decision you must ask within one month of the date of the decision notice.

Please note

• if you ask for an explanation first, the one month is still counted from the date of the decision letter
• if you ask for a written statement of reasons, the time we take to supply the statement does not count towards the month.

In special circumstances (such as serious illness) you may not have been able to cannot contact us within one month. We may still be able revise the decision. Please tell us of the special circumstances when requesting a revision if the month time limit has not been met.

If you ask us to look at a decision again more than one month after the date of the decision letter and you do not have special circumstances, we may still be able to revise the decision. Any revised decision will only take effect from the date that you wrote to us.

What happens after I have requested a Revision?

A different member of staff will look at your claim again and check that the original decision was correct. If the decision was wrong then it will be amended and a revised decision notice will be issued to you.

If you have asked us to look at the decision again within one month, or you had special circumstances that meant you could not do so, then we will change the decision from the date of the original decision. A revised decision notice will be issued to you.

If you do not agree with the new decision, you can ask us to look at it again.

If you asked us to look at our decision again after one month and did not have special circumstances, the decision will usually be changed from the date you asked us. A revised decision letter will be issued to you telling you of the change.

If we cannot change the decision, we will send you a notice saying why. This letter will confirm the original decision and tell you if you can appeal. If you can appeal, the one month time limit starts again from the date of this notice.

Appeal

If you want to appeal against the decision please check the following:

Do you

• have the right to appeal against the decision? (see letter)
• believe the decision is wrong?
• want to appeal to an independent tribunal?

If you can answer yes to the above questions please include all the reasons for your appeal. This is important as the tribunal can only take into account information that you have put in your appeal. Please ensure that this request for appeal is made within one month of the date of the decision notice.

You can have a choice of how your appeal is heard. You can choose between an oral hearing (which you can attend) and a paper hearing (which you cannot attend). If you choose to go to an oral hearing you will be able to deal with any questions or issues that arise. People who go to their hearing usually do better than those who do not.

What the tribunal looks at?

The tribunal can only look at the evidence, the law and the circumstances at the time we made the decision you are appealing against. The tribunal cannot look at changes of circumstances that happened after we made the decision.

If a change of circumstances could affect your benefit or mean you could claim again, you should report it straightaway. Do not wait for the appeal hearing.

Late Appeals

The Appeals Service may not be able to accept your appeal if we receive it more that one month after the date on the decision notice. They can only accept a late appeal if special circumstances caused the delay. These could be a death, a serious illness, absence abroad, a postal strike or some other special circumstance.

On your appeal you should include why you could not appeal within one month.

Your appeal cannot be accepted at all if you appeal 13 months or more after the date on the decision notice.

Appeals Tribunals

Tribunals are made up of up to two members, neither of whom are from the Council. Tribunal members will be experts on the issues involved in your appeal. All tribunals have a legally qualified member to help apply the law to your appeal.

What happens after I have appealed?

• we will offer you an explanation of our decision if we have not already done this
• we will look at the decision again if we have not already done this
• if we agree that the original decision was wrong and the new decision is to your advantage, we will send you a new decision notice and your appeal will stop. You can appeal against the new decision if you still disagree with it.
• if we agree the decision is wrong and make a new decision that is not to your advantage, your appeal will continue
• if we do not change the decision, we will send your appeal to the Appeals Service with an explanation of our decision and any relevant papers. A copy of the appeal papers will be sent to you and any representative you have. You should check the papers carefully. You will also receive a form that you must complete and send to the Appeals Service within 14 days otherwise your appeal will be struck out and will not be heard.

The Result of the Appeals Tribunal

Whether you have an oral or paper hearing

• you will be given a decision notice explaining the tribunal's decision as soon as possible after the appeal hearing. A copy will be sent to the office that made the original decision
• you can also ask for a statement of reasons. This gives an explanation of the tribunal's decision, including the facts and law used. You must ask for a statement of reasons within one month of the date you are given or sent the decision notice
• if you want a record of the appeal hearing, you can get a copy of the record of proceedings up to six months from the date of the hearing.

If your appeal is successful, we will put the decision right as soon as we receive our copy of the tribunal's decision. We may not put it right straight away if we appeal to the Social Security Commissioners.

What if I disagree with the Tribunal's decision?

Appeals to the Social Security Commissioners

• if you do not agree with the tribunal's decision, you may be able to appeal to the Social Security Commissioners.
• the Commissioners are barristers, solicitors or advocates of not less than ten years' standing and are appointed by the Queen on the advice of the Lord Chancellor. They are independent of both the Department for Work and Pensions and the council.

Can I appeal to the Commissioners?

You can make an appeal if

• you have already appealed to the Appeals Service
• you have already appealed to the council
• you have already appealed to the Department for Work and Pensions

What can I appeal to the Commissioner about?

You can only appeal to the Commissioners on a point of law. You cannot appeal to the Commissioners about

• questions of facts
• a tribunal's findings or conclusions

How do I appeal?

Your decision letter from the Appeals Service will tell you what to do if you are unhappy with the decision. The following information is important as it confirms time limits set

• you cannot appeal unless you first get the statement of reasons for the tribunal's decision
• you should read the statement of reasons carefully. If you think the tribunal did not apply the law correctly, you can apply for leave to appeal to the Commissioners. You must do this within one month of the date the statement of reasons was sent to you
• if you appeal to the Commissioners, you must send the statement of reasons with your application. If you do not, your application may not be looked at
• a legally qualified tribunal member will decide if your appeal can be sent to the Commissioners, or if the appeal should be looked at again by a different tribunal
• you can ask an advice centre, solicitor or suitable person or organisation to help with your application

What if my application is late?

Late applications for a statement of reasons or for leave to appeal to the Commissioners can only be accepted if there are special circumstances or special reasons that caused the delay

You will need to show why you were not able to make your request on time.

Do you need independent help with your appeal?

Organisations such as Citizens Advice Bureau or the Welfare Advice Centre can represent you and help you with an appeal. Sometimes they can go to the hearing with you.

If you are in a trade union they may help, and other organisations such as Disabled Advice and Age Concern can help too. If you have a social worker, ask them for help.

You may get advice from a solicitor under the Legal Advice and Assistance Scheme, but that does not cover the cost of accompanying you to the hearing. Costs are not awarded at hearings, although your own reasonable travel expenses can be paid.

For details of solicitors and advice centres, contact:

The Legal Aid Board,
Franchise Dept,
85 Grays Inn Road,
London
WC1X 8AA.

Freephone: 0500 282 3000