Forum Home → Discussion → Decision making and appeals → Thread
Factual errors in Statement of reasons. (Case Law?)
I have received a Statement of Reasons from an unsuccessful DLA FTT which is full of inaccuracies. The Judges handwritten Record of Proceedings contradicts his Statement in one instance. Mostly my clients symptoms from his condition (Cervical Dystonia) is misunderstood, despite detailed evidence from his specialist nurse and my submission recording his frustration from ignorance in the medical profession about his condition. I have been trawling case law re: inaccurate Statement of Reasons but could do with some help.
When I say miss-understood I actually mean the discussion was miss reported. i.e. cervical dystonia causes pain in his knees when in fact it is a condition that only effects the head and neck and no one said anything otherwise!
The tribunal is under legal obligation to ‘have regard to all the evidence’, to ‘indicate why it rejected evidence that was placed before it’; and it must give ‘adequate reasons for their findings, in such a way to enabling the reader to understand why the matter was decided as it was’:
CDLA/2997/2008, §7-9 and South Bucks D.C. v Porter (No. 2) 2004 UKHL 33, [2004] 1WLR 1953;
CSIB/684/97, §7;
CIB/14442/1996, §5, and reg. 23 of the Social Security (Adjudication) Regulations 1995 therein.
If the tribunal had not considered evidence properly, it has failed in its duty. Also, a contradictory Statement of Reason constitutes a breach of the duty ‘to enable the reader to understand why the matter was decided as it was’.
I don’t know how much this is useful, but it can be a good start.
Many thanks for the prompt response it was very helpfull