the local authority in the area I work have an interesting (i.e. unfair) interpretation of the D&A regs.

they will not accept an appeal as an 'appeal' , unless the claimant has first requested and recieved a reconsideration decision and then appealled again within a month.

my client has appealled on a GL24 form (given her by the local authority infomation point), they have reconsidered the decision and have not changed it.
(the LA are not saying the decision has lapsed, this is not an issue.)

they state that their 'policy' is that appeals are always treated as revision requests.

if the client does not re-appeal within a month they discontinue any further action on it

this does not seem right! - although I can sort out a new appeal for my client if that is what it takes, I am concerned that many would-be appellants have been denied their rights since 2001, and continue to be so denied.

I see from the HB(D&A)reg 20(1)that a LA have the discretion to decide in what form or format they want their appeals made.
but I feel that requiring the claimant to pursue the revision route first is taking discretion too far and is beyond the powers given to them in the regs. In effect they are taking the stance that no format of appeal is acceptable to them.

I also see from reg 16(4) that the appellant has a further month to make representations, but 16(5) states that at the end of the month the appeal will proceed whether or not any are made. I woudl speculate that they have misunderstood this reg when formulating their 'policy'.


Has anyone simillar cases, or knowledge of caselaw to share ?

it would be interesting to have a view point from a local authority officer also.

Thanks
Jim

I know that the HB Guidance Manual is guidance rather than the law, but nevertheless it is useful as it is intended to help LAs interpret the law. Relevant section says:

Decision not revised
10.74 If, following reconsideration, the original decision has not been revised, and the claimant did not appeal the original decision, notify the claimant of the decision not to revise. The appeal time limit is extended by a further month.

10.75 If the claimant has appealed already, tell the claimant the decision has been reconsidered but not revised, and appeal will proceed.

I cannot see how any LA can say that an appeal on a GL24 form is not an appeal!

Their policy is totally unlawful. An appeal is an appeal, they have to do a recon as part of the process. Only if the decision is revised in apellant's favour does the LA have the legal power to make it lapsed.

I had the same problem in my previous job in Leicester when the 2001 regs first came in. They quickly backed down though.

3 possible routes to challenge, if you client is legally aidable and you can find a knowledgable solicitor you could look at launching a judicial review of the 'policy' itself. However, you would prob need to show it is a policy and not just someone being dim.

Other poss is get the 2nd appeal in to cover yourself and make a complaint about maladministration. In order to lapse an appeal, once it is accepted as being an appeal, they have to show they have legal power to do so, which they haven't except when it is revised in favour of the client.

Final poss is to write to TAS and ask them to call the appeal in. I think others have had mixed results with that tactic though.

As you specifically wanted LAs to respond I am, but don’t disagree with what has already been said.

The LA concerned is just clearly wrong. I have to admit that, back when the rules changed for LAs in 2001, we had about a month where we followed the same procedure just through misunderstanding the guidance. (Seeing a closeness to the old arrangements that were not really there)

We soon saw the error of our ways, however, and we had to go back and look again at all the appeals that had been lodged in that time. (Thank goodness for a DIP system with an identifier code for appeals and reconsideration requests). There weren’t many in our case as the time involved was very short.

A letter before (JR) action to the HB section c.c'd to the LA's legal department should achieve the desired result, i.e. a duly processed appeal and the case sent down to TAS.

You could also get the LA Ombuudsman involved but a JR is more fun.