Query re PIP appeal - DWP told to provide evidence of questionnaire and now saying they will reassess the claim

Hi.

I’ve been helping a client appeal their pip decision which was negative - she didn’t get any point. We did an MR and then an appeal and at the court hearing the judge decided to stop the proceeding as the bundle didn’t include the pip questionnaire my client completed. They gave the DWP until early July to provide the missing information, which was to my knowledge never submitted.

Since then we have been contacted by the DWP and my client has been told they will reassess her claim and make a decision based on the information they now have.

This doesn’t seem to make sense as the questionnaire is still missing and the DWP had already decided not to award her the benefit. If we have to go through the same process again, she will be stuck in a never-ending loop as the original questionnaire is still missing.

What should we do? Can I contact the Courts to ask what the next steps are or query the process?

Thank you.

It doesn’t really sound like anything to be concerned about.

The DWP can look again at a decision whilst it is under appeal. Sometimes this is because new evidence has turned up and sometimes for some other reason such as a presenting officer’s input.

The DWP looking again at the case shouldn’t change anything as far as the course of the appeal goes unless the decision is actually changed. What will happen is that if the directions haven’t been complied with, the file will be put back to a judge to decide what is to happen next. Eventually it will get listed for another hearing.

If the DWP do change the decision in your client’s favour - for example by awarding the standard rate of daily living - this will cause the appeal to ‘lapse’ i.e. end. Your client could then decide they are not happy with the revised decision and start a new appeal against that decision whilst the new award goes into payment.

What is happening in practice (for the moment at least - see this thread: https://www.rightsnet.org.uk/forums/viewthread/17232/) is that DWP will ring up and ask your client if they would be happy with the proposed revision. If they are happy with it, then great, the decision gets changed and the appeal ends. If they are not happy with it, they can either say “no thanks” and the appeal will continue or they can say they want the decision to be revised but then appeal it anyways. That has the result that they get paid whilst their new appeal goes ahead, although it does put them to the back of the tribunal queue.

If DWP makes concessions - whether or not they are formally put into effect - they should inform the Tribunal and the Tribunal should take that as its starting point - https://www.gov.uk/administrative-appeals-tribunal-decisions/do-v-secretary-of-state-for-work-and-pensions-pip-2021-ukut-161-aac

That’s great, thanks for the quick reply