Direction 33 was amended on 14/11/2005 with no great fanfare but appears not to be in any Social Fund Guide I can find (including Rightsnet toolkit SFG) other than the DWPs.
The change alters the claimant’s right of being interviewed in person to one of having a telephone review only unless the claimant can convince a reviewing officer that a face to face interview is more appropriate.
Past experience leads me to believe that clients have lost a valuable aide in not being able to insist on a face to face interview. At first hand I've witnessed SFOs understanding exactly why the claim was being made after having sight of the claimant. At the very least clients have another hoop to jump through so as to be able to argue their case.
A Monday rant on a Tuesday due to B/Hol!