[2025] UKUT 010 (AAC)

A hearing was held on 1 April 2022 but adjourned. The First-tier Tribunal’s adjournment notice was not before when I granted permission to appeal against the Tribunal’s decision. It has now been supplied by the local authority. The notice:

did not explain why an adjournment was necessary save to state that, “The hearing was concluded but the parties are to update the working document and present written submissions. The Tribunal then will deliberate.”

required the Appellants, by 4 p.m. on 4 April 2022, to provide the authority with an updated Working Document and their proposed health and social care recommendations;

required both parties, by 4 p.m. on 11 April 2022, to inform each other, and the Tribunal, if they wished to present updated evidence about health and/or social care matters. Any such evidence was to be presented to the other party and the Tribunal by 4 p.m. on 25 April 2022, a deadline which also applied to the authority’s provision of a response to the Appellants’ health and social care recommendations;

required both parties, by 4 p.m. on 6 May 2022, to provide written closing submissions to each other and the Tribunal. This part of the notice went on to state:

“The LA also will provide to the Tribunal the final version of the working document, any additional evidence of the parties as referred to in the previous paragraph and the proposed recommendations regarding Health and Social Care matters.”