Thanks to Desmond Rutledge of Garden Court Chambers for sending it in to this to us CH/1231/2004 is now available on rightsnet.

In this decision, Commissioner Pacey holds that if a HB/CTB claim has been refused on a NINO question then that question can be considered afresh by the appeal tribunal on any appeal. In addition, he emphasises that it is not necessary for the decision on the NINO to have been made at the date of claim and that a tribunal must itself decide whether the information provided with the NINO application was sufficient to enable a NINO to be allocated.

CH/1231/2004 is cited by Stewart Wright in his June 2007 Welfare Rights Bulletin article NINO knowledge.