Tribunal Decision

Hi Everyone,

Throughout the DWP initial interview and then the mandatory consideration I was only given two points for the daily living component and 2 points for the mobility component.
I attended the first tier tribunal today and was amazed the panel agreed with me and they awarded me 12 points for the daily living component and 12 points for the mobility component - so both at the enhanced rate.

This has been going on since July 2016 - so 8 months later I now have a positive decision. However, even after all that stress I have read that the DWP can still refuse to pay the benefit. Does anyone know if this is actually the case or if DWP will go with the tribunal decision?

Thanks for any advice. I applied in 2015 and was turned down and applied again in 2016 with the help of Citizen Advice and they persuaded me to go to the tribunal this time and not take no for an answer as I quite obviously need help.

Hi again,
I hadn't received anything by today, one week after the tribunal. I telephoned DWP and they informed me that it would be at least 28 days until they told me if they were going to contest the tribunal decision. After doing further reading about this, would I be correct in saying that the DWP can only contest the tribunal's decision if there is a problem with a point of law?
Thank you for your help in advance,
Eve

Hi Eve,

You are right, DWP - like the claimant - can only take this further if they can show and Error of Law. The first step to this would be to request a Statement of Reasons from the Tribunal Service. This has to be done within 28 days of the decision and you would also receive a copy of the SoR too.

In practice DWP don't often request a SoR - although I appreciate that won't make the wait any easier for you!

Tribunals – Requesting a Statement of Reasons

What is an Error of Law?

Thank you for the highlighted notes you put in to your last post - it is very helpful. It is three weeks now and still no news. I did call dwp but they said they still havn't decided if they are going to appeal or not. I fing the whole thing exhausting and stressful.

Thank you for your help and I have found the topics in italics really useful. The dwp have eventually agreed with the tribunal and my back payments mean I can have a wet room fitted which is great. Getting the enhanced rate of PIP certainly opens other doors such as car tax exemption, working tax credit for fewer hours and help with council tax.