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DWP failure to provide appeal papers
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Solicitor - Vauxhall Law Centre
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Just wondering if anyone else is having same issues with DWP on both PIP and ESA appeals.
We have been lodging SSCS1 and 3 months down the line, we have still not received the appeal papers. Some of these have had directions issued by a Judge but still no paperwork.
Just wondering if this is becoming a common issue across board or are we really unlucky?
My PIP and ESA/UC LCW bundles aren’t taking a spectacularly long time to arrive. 4-6 weeks say. The habitual residence ones on the other hand are routinely taking 3-4 months.
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Solicitor - Vauxhall Law Centre
Total Posts: 11
Joined: 6 January 2017
Thanks, we are experiencing it on our PIP and ESA appeals at present. In one of our most recent cases for ESA, we lodged SSCS1 on 8th December and got acknowledgment and still waiting for the papers.
We are getting more of the following attached directions notice….
Anyone else experiencing this?
File Attachments
- Directions_notice.pdf (File Size: 412KB - Downloads: 2751)
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Welfare rights service - Derbyshire County Council
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Joined: 12 October 2012
We are encountering it with UC appeals also.
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Welfare rights worker - Oxford Community Work Agency
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Joined: 18 June 2010
we are seeing similar delays with ESA/PIP/UC/TCs - but ASC Birmingham are pretty hot on issuing Directions to the relevant respondent.
However this is nothing to the problems we are having getting LA’s to provide HB submissions within a reasonable period of time - and refrain from inserting a ‘requirement’ to make a MR into the appeal process (after which they insist claimant then needs to make a 2nd appeal against the MR decision!).
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First Contact - Welfare Rights, Angus Council, Forfar
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UC is a shambles at appeal stage. I’ve had 2 or 3 right to reside cases overturned prior to papers even being issued when the case has clearly landed on the desk of someone actually competent.
I have a UC WCA appeal which was lodged in December - still no papers and Tribunal Service have issued 3rd and final reminder to DWP.
We’ve had a handful of very recent instances of appeal papers being sent to client and not us (we are down as reps), and appeal papers arriving after appeal date given. Anyone in Scotland particularly having issues with this? (not just in UC appeals)
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Senior welfare rights officer - Salford City Council Welfare Rights Service
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I’ve had a few of these. The issue possibly doesn’t sit where you think it might. HMCTS have been receiving DWP submissions and not linking them to appeals. DWP get directions asking them to produce something they have produced and sent to HMCTS so they understandably if irritatingly do nothing.
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Welfare benefits officer - Scottish Borders Council, Scotland
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John-Paul - 20 March 2019 03:38 PMWe’ve had a handful of very recent instances of appeal papers being sent to client and not us (we are down as reps), and appeal papers arriving after appeal date given. Anyone in Scotland particularly having issues with this? (not just in UC appeals)
Not really, but I saw a client yesterday who had not been sent her copy of the appeal papers, while I had been sent two copies in separate envelopes.
UC are definitely the worst. I have a tribunal coming up about UC closing a claim after seven days as claimant had not accepted his claimant commitment. Having made up an arbitrary time limit and refused to consider extending it they then completely ignore the timescale for producing their appeal response!
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Mental health & welfare rights service - Wolverhampton City Council
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Mike Hughes - 20 March 2019 04:49 PMI’ve had a few of these. The issue possibly doesn’t sit where you think it might. HMCTS have been receiving DWP submissions and not linking them to appeals. DWP get directions asking them to produce something they have produced and sent to HMCTS so they understandably if irritatingly do nothing.
Are you sure?
It’s DWP’s job to issue the response to us as reps as well as to HMCTS; I’ve had a few subs arrive -from DWP- months after the 28 day deadline expired.
In practice I have never ended up at a hearing with no submission from DWP however one of our local POs told me that it has happened.
HMCTS has recently delegated the issuing of directions to caseworkers; it’s much quicker to happen now.
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Senior welfare rights officer - Salford City Council Welfare Rights Service
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Dan Manville - 26 March 2019 09:54 AMMike Hughes - 20 March 2019 04:49 PMI’ve had a few of these. The issue possibly doesn’t sit where you think it might. HMCTS have been receiving DWP submissions and not linking them to appeals. DWP get directions asking them to produce something they have produced and sent to HMCTS so they understandably if irritatingly do nothing.
Are you sure?
It’s DWP’s job to issue the response to us as reps as well as to HMCTS; I’ve had a few subs arrive -from DWP- months after the 28 day deadline expired.
In practice I have never ended up at a hearing with no submission from DWP however one of our local POs told me that it has happened.
HMCTS has recently delegated the issuing of directions to caseworkers; it’s much quicker to happen now.
Just checked back. 3 cases. In all 3 I sought directions following the apparent failure of DWP to produce anything. Nothing happened. Neither me nor the appellants received anything subsequent to the directions. All 3 were listed and in 2 of the 3 a PO turned up and was surprised to see that neither the panel nor ourselves had any papers as they did. Some frantic calls were then made back to HMCTS and it transpired that DWP had sent copies to HMCTS but no other party. Someone had it in their head it was on HMCTS to distribute when, as you say, it patently isn’t on HMCTS at all at the outset.
The sets sent to HMCTS were never linked to the appeal reference and so DWP assumed everyone had a copy because they believed it was up to HMCTS whilst HMCTS assumed they’d had nothing. 3 different first tier judges not best pleased.
Subsequent discussion with a PO outside a different tribunal from the above 3 asserted that it’s been a periodic issue and keeps rearing its head.
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Citizens Advice Bridport & District
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We’ve just received a couple of Direction notices for two UC appeals lodged nearly 4 months ago.
Both tortuous affairs, one of which we had to bypass the official MR (that was even after exhausting the DWP complaints process and a promise there would be a MR decision and nothing etc etc, ).
The Judge has directed the DWP to produce something within 7 days of the date of the notice for each of the appeals.
If nothing is received from the DWP, Judge said ‘a complaint will be made to the Director General of the Universal Credit programme’.
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Senior welfare rights officer - Salford City Council Welfare Rights Service
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Trying not to snigger.
We’re experiencing the opposite. Appeal responses now seem to be the fastest part of the process, though we’ve only just joined the UC club. Odd that there are regional disparities, as DWP farms the job out to centres all over the place.
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Citizens Advice Bridport & District
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Mike Hughes - 26 March 2019 03:28 PMTrying not to snigger.
Today’s the deadline for both.
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Benefits adviser - Isle of Wight CAB
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I’ve never seen the term 04 composition before, I assume that’s a code rather than the actual number of members?
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Senior welfare rights officer - Salford City Council Welfare Rights Service
Total Posts: 3138
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Mr Finch - 27 March 2019 11:38 AMI’ve never seen the term 04 composition before, I assume that’s a code rather than the actual number of members?
ESA.