housing benefit appeals & FIRST TIER tribunals

ONLINE WORKSHOP:

Wednesday, 21st September, 2022.

Full-Day Workshop: (9:30 - 4:30)  

Workshop Fee: £240 + VAT.    4th Place Free .    

HOUSING BENEFIT APPEALS & FIRST TIER TRIBUNALS

Good Practice When Compiling An Appeal Submission

Now including Human Rights / Equality Act Challenges 

This Workshop provides an ideal insight to the general principles and good practices when it comes to appeal submission writing. We recommend this Workshop for local authority staff who handle appeal cases or are preparing to do so. Housing association staff and claimant advisers seeking some insight into the HB appeals process from the local authority perspective are welcome to attend but should bear in mind it is assumed that all delegates will have reasonable knowledge of benefits generally. Due to an increasing number of questions being raised on appeals that rely on the Human Rights Act or Equality Act we have also now included a significant part of the day to focus on these issues. 

This Workshop provides an ideal introduction to the topic for new appeals officers, or a refresher for existing appeals officers, covering the general principles of appeal submission writing: Impartiality, what evidence to include, the traditional lay-out of an appeal submission and when it might be useful to vary that lay-out. Each aspect of submission writing is demonstrated by practical examples and exercises.  

Many appeal submissions involve overpayments of HB and so we will focus on the issues presented by these cases. Apart from the merits of the case (which might seem “open and shut” on the face of it), overpayment appeals are notoriously subject to technical issues which can lead to the Council losing what ought to have been a strong case on the facts. Examples include:  

• Has the Council demonstrated that the adjudication history is properly in order, with original awarding decisions properly revised or superseded – what Tribunals sometimes refer to as getting your “ducks in a row”? 

• Has the Council made a complete decision – not just that an overpayment exists per se, but whether it is recoverable and from whom? 

• Has the decision been notified in the correct manner to the correct parties?  

Of course, no Workshop looking at overpayment appeals would be complete without a substantial segment devoted to landlords: When is an overpayment recoverable from a landlord? When is a landlord a party to an appeal? What grounds of appeal may the landlord rely on and what documents should be disclosed to the landlord? There is a large body of case law concerned with landlords and HB appeals and we will cover the most up-to-date decisions during the day.  

Recently the Supreme Court decided that Tribunals have the power to award remedies (by way of awarding or increasing HB) when the Council has applied the Regulations correctly but the Regulations in question are alleged to be incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights. Due to the increasing interest in this topic we will spend a significant part of the afternoon looking at Convention rights, discrimination, justification, and possible remedies that a Tribunal can provide. We will also touch on the related subject of the Equality Act 2010 and whether this can be relied on a benefit appeal to a Tribunal.  

 “GOODIE-BAG”: Delegates will receive specimen skeleton appeal submissions in editable ‘Word’ format with numbered paragraphs and section headings and some “boilerplate” content addressing the key principles, as well as editable admin documents such as the AT37.  

Presented by Peter Barker. A hugely experienced trainer, appeals presenter, and submission writer. He combines a wealth of first-hand experience with expert knowledge of adjudication legislation and has a real enthusiasm for the topic.

Contact us for In-House 'Zoom' booking information on a range of programmes for this topic.