from cmmrs site -

'A Tribunal of Commissioners has been convened to consider the issue of 'motivation and prompting' in the context of DLA 'attention'. The hearing will take place on 15-16 December 2005 in Edinburgh.'

Shawn, do you or anyone else have any more details on this. As this could affect all of our clients we would be more than happy to assist if required

This is all rather frightening.

I recently had a case where I said "Mallinson ... motivation ... not taken into account... grumble" on a leave to appeal application and it was turned down by district chair saying "I do not find Mallinson authority for the proposition of law that attention to another person can be done by word of mouth".

Mrs Jupp granted leave and wondered about supervision.

It all really worried me that the words in Mallinson were being used to draw motivation away from attention and towards supervision (which they could be, don't forget - "If a mental disability is not serious, it will be a case for supervision ... however a severe case of mental disability may well require attention ..."). (It all came right in the end as CDLA/2907/2004 which wasn't the definitive decision on the subject I'd hoped it to be (but it also wasn't the disaster I'd feared it could be either))

R(DLA) 10/02 is a decision of Mrs Parker that says 'motivation is supervision' (it was reported for other reasons perhaps but there it is: motivation is supervision and is reported).

But then CSDLA 130/02 (my favourite decision on the subject) says 'motivation is attention'. And it's also a decision of Mrs Parker decided _after_ R(DLA) 10/02.

So maybe that's why there's particularly a Scottish tribunal on the subject.

Ultimately I can't really see how they can go around Mallinson and say definitively one way or the other. But...

I do hope someone very very good is handling this.

Queens Cross HA is the representative, and I am the lead officer handling this at present. We have obtained Counsel's opinion for the appellant under legal aid, and we await result of an aplication for ABWOR for Counsel to represent at the oral hearing. If we don't get Counsel, then I would be representing the appellant.