Upper Tribunal: Administrative Appeals Chamber judgments, 2023

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the general right of access arises only where the request is made to a body that is a public authority. The…

For an automatic strike-out under rule 8 of the First-tier Tribunal rules, the 28-day period for applying for reinstatement begins when the Tribunal sends…

For Article 14 read with A1P1, the relevant question is the substantive effect of a social-security rule, rather than whether it is technically labelled a…

For limitation purposes, a decision excluding a disabled pupil from school may constitute conduct extending over a period rather than a one-off act with…

A claimant who is barred by the SDP Gateway from claiming Universal Credit cannot obtain a retrospective award of a legacy benefit merely because the…

Where parents do not request that a particular school be named in an education, health and care plan, the tribunal must apply the holistic question under…

On an appeal under the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006, the Upper Tribunal may correct mistakes of law or fact, but cannot substitute its own…

A decision revised for a mistake of material fact is appealed as the original decision as revised, rather than as a separate revision decision. The tribunal…

Universal Credit entitlement is determined by complete assessment periods. A claimant whose entitlement does not subsist throughout the first assessment period…

Consent by a severely disabled person is not a condition of entitlement to Carer’s Allowance. The conditions in section 70 of the Social Security Contributions…

On an appeal under Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006, the Upper Tribunal must confirm a barring decision unless the Disclosure and Barring Service made a…

An appellate tribunal will not interfere with a Traffic Commissioner’s regulatory decision unless it is plainly wrong or the facts or law require a different…

A tribunal errs in law where a material factual finding has no evidential basis, where it overlooks evidence directly contradicting its findings, or where it…

For a variation based on unearned income, regulation 69 of the Child Support Maintenance Calculations Regulations 2012 generally requires the decision-maker to…

A tribunal considering discharge under the Mental Health Act 1983 should adjourn to obtain aftercare information where discharge is a realistic prospect and…

For Universal Credit, a student loan is assessed by its objective statutory character and amount, not by how the student intends to use it or actually spends…

Under section 2(2)(b) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the public-interest balance is assessed as at the date when the public authority decides how to…

An operator whose designated transport manager resigns must ensure that a suitable replacement is designated or obtain a period of grace. Failure to do so…

Entitlement to an allowance for lowered standard of occupation requires that the claimant’s disablement, rather than external labour-market conditions, makes…

A tribunal determining whether information is exempt under section 41 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 must assess whether the statutory conditions are…

On an appeal under section 4 of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006, the Upper Tribunal reviews errors of law and material errors of fact, but does not…

Where a tribunal appeal was heard in a party’s absence because the tribunal was misled about the reason for non-attendance, that circumstance is a significant…

When deciding whether the detention criteria are met, a tribunal must assess credible, less restrictive alternatives to hospital detention. This includes…

An appellate tribunal may interfere with a Traffic Commissioner’s decision only where, on objective grounds, reason and law require a different view. An…

Education, Health and Care Plans may specify special educational provision otherwise than in a school where the statutory conditions for such provision are…

Where a request seeks several distinct items of information, the right of access and each exemption under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 must be assessed…

For the BBC journalism derogation under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the relevant question is whether an immediate object of holding the information is…

Pensions Act 1995, section 168(1), removes the effect of a war widow’s later marriage only when determining entitlement for periods beginning on or after its…

Under Article 14, a challenge to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme must apply the established four-stage discrimination analysis. Where the scheme…

For a statutory defence of reasonable excuse, ordinary operational difficulties are assessed within the regulatory timetable and punctuality framework, while…

Under the tax-credit scheme, a claimant’s duty to notify HMRC of a change relevant to entitlement is not confined to the tax year in which the change occurred.…

An applicant for a restricted goods vehicle operator’s licence bears the burden of proving that it meets the statutory requirements. Operator licensing depends…

For detention for treatment, appropriate medical treatment must be appropriate to the individual patient’s needs and have a therapeutic purpose. Measures…

On an appeal under Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006, the Upper Tribunal may reconsider factual matters and hear oral evidence. A mistake of fact must be…

A person’s occupation of premises with an existing tenant does not, without more, make that person a tenant. A tribunal deciding whether a tenancy existed must…

Where fluctuating earnings have changed more than once, regulation 8(3) of the Social Security Benefit (Computation of Earnings) Regulations 1996 permits a…

An unlawful administrative act may continue to have legal effect unless and until it is set aside through a lawful process. The First-tier Tribunal’s statutory…

Regulation 7(4) of the Housing Benefit Regulations 2006 applies only where essential repairs require the claimant to leave the home normally occupied and move…

For regulation 64(3) of the Housing Benefit Regulations 2006, “reasonable steps” to acquire a student loan are not confined to the mechanics of making an…

A traffic commissioner may revoke an operator’s licence where an unauthorised operating centre has been used and the operator has failed to maintain adequate…

Where a parent requests a particular school under Children and Families Act 2014, section 39(4)(b)(i) is satisfied only if the child’s attendance would be…

An appeal under section 4 of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 may succeed where the Disclosure and Barring Service gives inadequate reasons for…

For the purposes of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012, a criminal injury consisting of a longer-term mental condition is sustained when the…

An appeal against a barring decision is confined to material mistakes of law or fact on which the decision was based. The Upper Tribunal may consider evidence…

Entitlement to personal independence payment is subject to the prescribed residence and presence conditions. The past presence requirement in regulation 16(b)…

On an application for the return of an impounded goods vehicle, the owner bears the burden of satisfying the Traffic Commissioner that it probably did not know…

A penalty notice is legally effective only when it has been validly served. Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme Regulations 2014, regulation 51 applies to…

Entitlement to an additional universal credit bedroom for an overnight carer depends on all components of the overnight care condition. Receipt of the daily…

For child maintenance under the 2012 scheme, historic income must ordinarily be based on the HMRC figure last requested. A tribunal cannot substitute income…

On an appeal under Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006, the Upper Tribunal may consider all the evidence, including fresh oral evidence, when deciding…

On an appeal against licensing sanctions, the Upper Tribunal asks whether objective grounds show that a different view is right, or that reason and law require…

An appeal against revocation of an operator’s licence will fail where the operator accepts that the Traffic Commissioner made no error and that revocation was…

An appeal against a barring decision under the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 is confined to material mistakes of law or fact. The Upper Tribunal may…

A First-tier Tribunal may review and set aside a discrete matter within its decision, but must define the review’s scope and respect finality in litigation. A…

A First-tier Tribunal hearing a Freedom of Information appeal must comply with its statutory composition. Where a three-member panel is required, the parties…

An operator’s licence revocation cannot stand where a procedural or other irregularity, through no party’s fault, was capable of making a material difference…

For inclusion on an adults’ barred list, transferability does not require proof that the person has a sexual attraction to vulnerable adults or has committed…

An administrative decision-maker conducting a public inquiry must assess all relevant evidence before making the decision. Late submission may be criticised…

Tribunal reasons must identify the issues vital to the conclusion and explain how they were resolved. The required detail depends on the nature of the case. A…

A final tribunal decision on entitlement determines the claimant’s entitlement for the period within its jurisdiction. It cannot be reopened merely because the…

On an appeal against refusal of an operator’s licence for lack of good repute, the Upper Tribunal will intervene only where the Traffic Commissioner’s decision…

A retained right of residence under article 13(2) of Directive 2004/38 is not limited to the third-country national who was party to the dissolved marriage. It…

Under the Universal Credit two-child limit, children are ordinarily ordered by their dates of birth, with the earliest first. The exception for a child…

A reciprocal social-security agreement can affect entitlement only to the benefits and in the circumstances provided by the agreement or legislation preserving…

An appeal under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 is a full merits review. The First-tier Tribunal may make findings of fact different from those of the…

For the exemption in section 30(1)(a)(i) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to apply, a public authority must have a statutory duty to conduct an…

An appellate tribunal reviews the Traffic Commissioner’s decision on the evidence available below. It does not conduct a fresh first-instance hearing. The…

An appeal against revocation of an operator’s licence is a review of the decision-making material before the licensing authority. The appellant must show that…

In a challenge to disclosure of personal information under section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the Upper Tribunal will not redecide the…

On an appeal against a monetary penalty notice under the Data Protection Act 2018, disputed facts are ordinarily resolved by the civil standard of proof. A…

On an appeal against refusal of an operator’s licence, the Upper Tribunal considers whether the Traffic Commissioner’s decision was plainly wrong. The Tribunal…

An appeal against a vehicle-detention decision is a review, not a rehearing. The appellant must show that the decision was plainly wrong, or that the reasoning…

An appeal against a traffic commissioner’s licensing decision succeeds only where the decision is plainly wrong or the facts and law require appellate…

Where vehicle impounding depends on mandatory notification requirements, each notice must be served on the correct statutory recipient. Service on the wrong…

Imprisonment may both disqualify a claimant from receiving contributory employment and support allowance and, where the disqualification lasts more than six…

In a personal independence payment appeal, tribunals must distinguish between evidence described as relating to learning difficulties and evidence relating to…

For the purposes of the self-sufficiency condition in art.7(1)(b) of Directive 2004/38/EC, an EU national may rely on resources made available by a spouse who…

An appellate tribunal must decide an operator-licensing appeal on the material before the Traffic Commissioner and interfere only for a material error of law…

An appeal under Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 may challenge material mistakes in findings of fact as well as errors of law. The Upper Tribunal may…

A claimant for Personal Independence Payment must satisfy the past presence test in regulation 16(b) of the Social Security (Personal Independence Payment)…

When deciding an application to reinstate a withdrawn case under rule 17(4) of the Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal)(Health Education and Social Care)…

The Upper Tribunal has an inherent jurisdiction to determine what open justice requires in relation to access by non-parties to documents held in tribunal…

A tribunal cannot provide an effective remedy for alleged human-rights incompatibility by disapplying a beneficial regulation where the underlying Act excludes…

On an appeal against revocation of a restricted goods vehicle operator’s licence, the Upper Tribunal must determine matters of law and fact on the material…

An Upper Tribunal appeal against a Traffic Commissioner’s exercise of discretion succeeds only where the decision was plainly wrong, or where a material error…

Neither the Disclosure and Barring Service nor the Upper Tribunal has power under the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 to remove a person from a barred…

In a LEAP review of a personal independence payment decision, a claimant may have jurisdiction to appeal the original decision where the request for mandatory…

An appeal against a vehicle detention decision is a review of the material before the original decision-maker. The appellant must show that the reasoning and…

Statutory words must be read in their statutory context. External materials cannot displace clear language that produces no absurdity. In a transfer provision…

For an overpayment to be recoverable under Social Security Administration Act 1992, the claimant’s failure to disclose must satisfy two causation requirements.…

Information requested under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 may constitute the requester’s personal data even where it also concerns an issue, complaint or…

An appeal against a Traffic Commissioner’s licensing decision should be allowed only where the decision was plainly wrong or disproportionate, or where the…

The First-tier Tribunal deciding a school disability discrimination claim is confined to the jurisdiction conferred by the Equality Act 2010. It need not…

The actual-receipts method in the Universal Credit Regulations 2013 is not irrational merely because a claimant paid fortnightly may receive six weeks’ pay in…

In shared-care child maintenance cases, the comparison is between the extent of the parties’ actual day to day care. That expression concerns the hands-on…

A licensing decision must be based on the statutory provisions in force when it is made. A repealed provision cannot lawfully support revocation or refusal of…

For an in-year finalisation of tax credits following a claim for universal credit, income is calculated under the modified statutory scheme. Employment income…

For the purposes of regulation 26(3)(d) of the Universal Credit etc. (Claims and Payments) Regulations 2013, whether an official computer system is…

An operator’s licence may be revoked where the operator fails to maintain required professional competence arrangements, operating-centre information or…

An appeal against a vehicle-impounding decision is a review of the material before the original decision-maker, supplemented where appropriate by the…

Where revocation of an operator’s licence is at stake, a traffic commissioner must conduct the public inquiry fairly and give the operator a proper opportunity…

A tribunal may properly discuss a legal issue with another judicial office holder to promote consistency, provided that it retains responsibility for its own…

For the purposes of the law-enforcement exemption in section 31(1)(g), read with section 31(2)(b) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, an inquest is not a…

On an appeal under section 4 of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006, the Upper Tribunal may determine disputed facts for itself. Where it makes…

Before a mental-health tribunal may proceed in a patient’s absence, it must satisfy the conditions in rule 39(2) of the Tribunal Procedure (First-tier…

For Activity 2 of the Social Security (Personal Independence Payments) Regulations 2013, a claimant may be unable to take nutrition reliably where a physical…

When reviewing a finding that an information request is vexatious, the Upper Tribunal asks whether the First-tier Tribunal gave intelligible reasons…

A claimant who knows that a change of circumstances may affect entitlement must notify the Secretary of State under regulation 32(1B) of the Social Security…

The statutory test for arranging special educational provision otherwise than at a school is whether, in general, it would be inappropriate for the required…

For the purposes of Regulation (EC) 883/2004, universal credit is a single, unified minimum-subsistence benefit. Its child element is an amount within the…

An appellate tribunal may proceed in an appellant’s absence where written notice of the hearing has been given and it is in the interests of justice to do so.…

Child-care charges may be disregarded in calculating housing benefit only where they are paid for care that is actually provided. Payments made solely to…

A vehicle may be detained where there is reason to believe that it has been used contrary to the operator-licensing requirement. The exemption for…

An anonymity order made under rule 14 of the Tribunal Procedure (Upper Tribunal) Rules 2008 is directed to the Upper Tribunal’s own proceedings. Its statutory…

A retrospective restoration of a severe disability premium does not itself extend the statutory limit for backdating housing benefit. Under regulation 83 of…

An application to add a transport manager must be determined under the legislation in force when the decision is made. A statutory provision omitted before the…

A standard goods-vehicle operator’s licence carries continuing requirements. An operator must retain an effective and stable establishment, including having a…

Where an employee of a Real Time Information employer receives remuneration or a PAYE adjustment during a universal credit assessment period, the reported…

An appellate tribunal reviewing an operator-licensing decision must decide whether the appellant has shown that the decision was plainly wrong. A refusal for…

In an efficiency case under the National Health Service (Performers Lists) (England) Regulations 2013, the relevant question concerns the level, nature and…

In a shared-care case under regulation 50 of the Child Support Maintenance Calculation Regulations 2012, the tribunal must decide whether one parent provides…

A surviving cohabitant without qualifying children is not in an analogous position, for the purposes of article 14 of the Convention, to a surviving spouse or…

For carer’s allowance, the statutory reference to being under 16 must be understood by reference to the compulsory school-leaving age. A person who has reached…

On an appeal concerning termination of tax credits after a universal credit claim, the tribunal’s jurisdiction is limited. It must determine whether a…

On an appeal from a traffic commissioner, the appellant must show objectively that the decision was wrong. It is insufficient that the Upper Tribunal might…

A holder of a standard goods vehicle operator’s licence must continuously satisfy the requirement of an effective and stable establishment. This includes…

Under section 61 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, certification for contempt requires a clear and properly particularised allegation of a serious breach…

An appellate tribunal reviewing a regulatory decision must review the material before the original decision-maker and intervene only where the reasoning or…