Repeat ESA appeals.

Last year and earlier this year it seems to have been common practice for ESA appeals that had been lost at tribunal to have further appeal rights, a sort of revolving door process where the same appeal could be reheard without resorting to setting aside or anything like that. For some reason we do not seem to have run into this when it was current practice so I do not know a great deal about it.

Does anyone know what law was used to justify this rather unlikely process - I know it has been changed now but the case I have here seems to go back to the time when rehearings were still permitted in these circumstances.

Further to this query I now have two appeals ongoing under these circumstances, in both cases the appellant lost at the first hearing and the DWP has allowed a second appeal to be made to the first tier. In both cases the judge has made directions that the DWP explain how a further appeal to the first tier has been put forward.

Judging from the lack of response to my first post and the lack of response to the directions as well no one is sure why this has been permitted, yet I understand that a number of appeals in these circumstances have been heard in other parts of the country. If both the judges in my cases do not get any response to the directions then they may decide to rule that the appeals are res judicata and not re hear them.

It would obviously be unfair for my clients to be treated differently to appellants in another part of the country so (in the absence of any specific law!) I wondered if anyone could tell me a Tribunal Venue or TTS area office where such appeals have been heard so I can demonstrate to both judges that it was common practice to allow hearings to go ahead in these circumstances. I understand that this practice was ended in June 2010 but both appeals were started well before then.

Any help gratefully recieved, i’m beginning to clutch at straws!