Upper Tribunal Administrative Appeals Chamber

[2025] UKUT 332 (AAC)

Fecha: 21-Jul-2025

These Directions may be supplemented by later directions by a Tribunal Caseworker, Tribunal Registrar or Judge in the Social Entitlement Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal

These Directions may be supplemented by later directions by a Tribunal Caseworker, Tribunal Registrar or Judge in the Social Entitlement Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal.

REASONS FOR DECISION

Introduction

These two cases were listed together to be heard by a three-judge panel of the Upper Tribunal because they raise questions of law of special difficulty or important principles of practice in relation to applications for revision of decisions in relation to benefit entitlements made more than 13 months after the original decision was notified to the claimant. In particular, they were listed to consider the following questions:

Whether a right of appeal to the First-tier Tribunal arises in respect of an application for revision on grounds of official error only if the decision was actually made in consequence of an official error;

If not, what condition must be satisfied to give rise to a right of appeal, in particular:

Is it sufficient that the Secretary of State has considered an application that is, properly construed, an application on the ground of official error;

ii.

Or does the claimant have to raise in the application (or, potentially, on appeal) an arguable case of ‘official error’; and,

Whether, if the First-tier Tribunal has jurisdiction to hear such an appeal, it must determine the appeal in the same way as it would an ‘ordinary’ appeal against the original decision on its full merits, or whether it is limited to considering only the alleged ‘official error’ grounds.