Frequently Asked Questions
- Are you really independent?
- Can I appeal against all Department for Work and Pensions and Child Support Agency decisions?
- Are there time limits for appeals?
- Do I need to attend the hearing?
- How do I get expert advice on my hearing?
- Can I choose where my appeal will be heard?
- Will you pay expenses for me and my representative, or witness, to attend the hearing?
- How long will I have to wait for my appeal to be heard?
- What if I think the tribunals decision is wrong?
- I have won my appeal, what happens now?
- Can my case be postponed or adjourned if I or my representative is not ready?
- I have been given a hand written decision notice, when will I receive formal notification of my decision?
1. Are you really independent?
Members of the Social Security and Child Support Appeals (SSCSA) Tribunal panel are all appointed by the Lord Chancellor. They are independent (as required by Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights) and decide appeals purely on merit. The SSCSA Tribunal is supported by administrators who are civil servants. These staff work closely with the agencies, against whose decisions appeals are made, They help to ensure that all the required paperwork is prepared and issued to you before your hearing.
2. Can I appeal against all Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and Child Support Agency (CSA) decisions?
You can only appeal where the law gives you a right of appeal. Not every decision made on Social Security benefits, tax credits or child support carry a right to appeal. Appeals are dealt with by the Social Security and Child Support Appeals Tribunal and are heard by an independent tribunal. Some decisions can only be appealed by application to the High Court for Judicial Review or to the Social Fund Inspector. See appealable and non-appealable decisions.
3. Are there time limits for appeals?
There are time limits for appeals for various actions both before and after your appeal is heard. An appeal has to be made in writing within one calendar month from the date on which the original letter giving the decision was sent to you. This may be extended in certain limited situations. The detail is set out in the procedural Regulations, The Social Security and Child Support (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations 1999. More information can be found on the 'How to appeal' page of this website.
4. Do I need to attend the hearing?
Please try to attend your hearing. The advantage of you attending your hearing is that you have an opportunity to discuss your case in person, and the tribunal have the opportunity to learn more about your case than could be gathered from the papers alone.
5. How do I get expert advice on my hearing?
There are a wide range of agencies, organisations and people who have considerable knowledge of social security benefits and child support matters across the country. Many of these provide their services free and may well be willing to attend with you and represent you at your hearing. This website contains some 'useful links' for expert advice. Your local library and/or Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) may be able to provide such information and contact points.
6. Can I choose where my appeal will be heard?
If you have requested an oral hearing, the SSCSA Tribunal processing centre dealing with your appeal will notify you by letter of the time, date and place of your hearing. The appeal will normally be heard at the tribunal venue nearest your home.
If for any reason this is not the most convenient place for you, then you should notify the clerk dealing with your appeal and it may be possible for a different venue to be arranged. Special considerations apply in Child Support cases where the circumstances of both parents, who may live well away from each other, will have to be considered.
7. Will you pay expenses for me and my representative, or witness/es, to attend the hearing?
We can pay reasonable travel expenses and aim to do so on the day of your hearing. We will pay expenses for your representative, if they are not paid by the organisation they work for, and witnesses that have been invited by a party to the proceedings to give evidence at the hearing.
8. How long will I have to wait for my appeal to be heard?
Appeals take on average 11 weeks from the time the Social Security and Child Support Appeals Tribunal receives the schedule of evidence (often referred to as the "submission") from the Agency dealing with the case. Your case may be heard quicker than this, but the length of time will vary depending on the particular circumstances of your appeal.
9. What if I think the tribunals decision is wrong?
You can challenge a tribunal decision if you think the tribunal got the law wrong. You can do this by applying to the Office of Social Security and Child Support Commissioners (OSSCSC). These are lawyers who specialise in such cases. You can find out more about them on the 'Commissioners' website, or on the Court Service Website. If you want to appeal to the Commissioners, you should firstly request a statement of reasons for the tribunal decision in writing within one month of the date of issue of the decision notice. On receipt of the full statement, if you still believe that the decision was wrong in law, you should then apply for permission to appeal to the Commissioner, one month from the date of issue of the statement.
A request for permission to appeal will be considered by a senior tribunal chairman who may grant or refuse permission to appeal to the Commissioner. You can then decide to send your application to the Office of the Commissioners, with the senior tribunal Chairman's decision. (In certain circumstances, the District Chairman can also decide that your appeal should be heard again at the Social Security and Child Support Appeals Tribunal. If this happens, you will be told about it, and another tribunal date will be arranged).' More information is available on 'What happens next?'.
10. I have won my appeal, what happens now?
You will receive a decision notice either by post or on the day of the hearing. A copy of this will be sent to the Agency that made the original decision. They will then carry out the instructions of the tribunal. If they do not agree with the decision they can decide to apply for permission to appeal - known as 'leave to appeal' & to a Social Security or Child Support Commissioner. In this respect they have the same rights of further appeal as you do. They may only appeal further if they believe the tribunal has got the law wrong. In such circumstances they may suspend any payment due as a result of the decision of the tribunal until this issue has been resolved. Refer to 'What happens next?'.
11. Can my case be postponed or adjourned if either me, or my representative, is not ready?
You should have plenty of time to prepare fully for your appeal. You should pass copies of all the papers relating to the hearing to any representative you propose to consult as soon as possible after you receive them. This will allow plenty of time to get organised, and obtain any further information your representative thinks necessary to put before the tribunal in support of your case. This will reduce the likelihood of you having to ask for a postponement. If there is a problem when you receive your letter telling you about the date of the hearing, you should contact us as soon as possible.
A postponement request should be made in writing. If it is refused you should attend the tribunal because otherwise a decision may well be made in your absence. If there is still a particular difficulty you can explain the position to the tribunal and it may be that having heard what you have to say that they will agree to an adjournment. You should not expect this to happen and it is important that you do attend prepared as best you can to go ahead with the presentation of your appeal. Refer to 'How to Appeal' and 'Preparing for my tribunal hearing'.
12. I have been given a hand written decision notice, when will I receive formal notification of my decision?
The hand written decision notice you received is your official notification of the tribunal decision.
