Bills v Social Security Commissioner

Permission to appeal should be granted where the proposed appeal has a reasonable prospect of success. An appellate court may grant permission where the lower decision-maker may have applied an unduly critical or arguably incorrect approach to the reasoning of a tribunal, particularly where a rehearing was directed. The grant of permission does not determine the underlying issue.

The applicant claimed industrial injuries disablement benefit under Part V of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992. A tribunal accepted that repeated heavy parcel handling caused a series of back strains and allowed his appeal. The Social Security Commissioner allowed the Secretary of State’s appeal, considered that the tribunal had applied the wrong legal test, and directed a rehearing.

The applicant sought permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal. The central question was whether the proposed appeal had a reasonable prospect of success and whether the Commissioner’s short reasoning warranted appellate consideration.

1. Permission granted. The application was governed by the ordinary test because section 55 of the Access to Justice Act 1999 did not apply. Permission should be granted where the proposed appeal has a reasonable prospect of success.
2. The applicant had an arguable case that the Commissioner had been unduly critical of the tribunal’s reasoning and had wrongly considered it necessary to direct a rehearing.
3. The underlying question concerned whether the applicant had suffered personal injuries in an industrial accident within section 44 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992. The judgment referred to the distinction between an injury caused by a single accident or series of identifiable incidents and incapacity produced by a continuous process, as discussed in Roberts v Dorothea Slate Quarries Ltd and 1948 2 AER 201, and to Lord Hope’s formulation in Chief Adjudication Officer v Faulds and 2000 2 AER 961.
4. The court expressly declined to say more on the merits at the permission stage. A copy of the judgment was ordered to be provided to the applicant at public expense.

• Court of Appeal (Civil Division): Permission to appeal from the Social Security Commissioner was granted.
• Social Security Commissioner: On 15 January 2001, Mr Edward Jacobs allowed the Secretary of State’s appeal from the tribunal and directed a rehearing.
• Sutton Appeal Tribunal: On 25 April 2000, the tribunal allowed the applicant’s appeal against rejection of his claim for industrial injuries disablement benefit.