Change of Decision

I have a child who was awarded MRC and LRM on renewal, however the decision was revised two weeks later with a NIL award for either component - this was before the parents were notified of the original decision. 

The parents are appealing the decision.

It appears to have been overturned by evidence given in a factual report from the child’s school - boxes are ticked but very little information.  There has been no request to the child’s Consultant.

The parents are adamant that they did not receive a notification of the original award and did not ask for a revision.

The only conclusion that I could come up with is that the revised/superceded Decision of a NIL award was made by the DM’s and the time line in the appeal pack given by DCS, suggests this also.

Whilst I am aware that DM’s can change decisions - I have not come across a situation where a decision has been changed within a two week time line before, has anyone else?

Is it worth challenging this technical point?

Whilst I can understand the client’s frustration, there is no real technical point to challenge - Secretary of State can revise of his own volition (i.e. without there having to be specific grounds such as official error or mistake or ignorance of a material fact) so long as he does so within one month of notification of the original decision - see reg. 3(1) of the D&A Regs.

Now I know reg. 3(1) requires notification and it might appear that an issue could be made of this, but either the SoS’s position is going to be;

a) a decision was made and notification sent to the client, though they may not have received it.
b) there was a decision but no notification because another DM realised that a factual report had been requested but not yet received - and so decided to hold fire on notification and then revised when the factual report was received.

In either case the SoS was still within the one month required - the only effect of notification not being given (as in case b) ) as opposed to not being received is that time for appealing does not begin to run until notification is given.

I did once have a similar DLA renewal case where notification was given, a factual report had been requested but was not received by the dept. until eight weeks after the decision to award and a different DM did then revise to remove the award. That one I did appeal on the technical point that the SoS was outside the month, that the first DM had not been guilty of official error in determining the renewal without the report and an EMP report was only opinion - i.e. did not and could not show any mistake or ignorance as to material fact. And although we won on the technical point I would have hated to go to bat without having the medical evidence up my sleeve to show that that the client was, in any event, entitled to the original award.