Child Disability Payment decision making guide
Evidence and submissions
The First-tier Tribunal has the power to give orders about any of the following (The First-tier Tribunal for Scotland Social Security Chamber (Procedure) Regulations 2018, Schedule, para 15(1)(a)-(d)and (f)):
- issues on which it requires evidence or submissions
- the types of evidence or submissions to be provided
- whether the parties are permitted to provide expert evidence
- any limit on the number of witnesses who can be put forward
- how and by when any evidence or submissions need to be provided
The First-tier Tribunal can also decide if the evidence or submissions should be (The First-tier Tribunal for Scotland Social Security Chamber (Procedure) Regulations 2018, Schedule, para 15(1)(e)):
- made orally at a hearing
- made by written submissions or witness statement
The First-tier Tribunal can exclude evidence that would otherwise be admissible in any of the following situations (The First-tier Tribunal for Scotland Social Security Chamber (Procedure) Regulations 2018, Schedule, para 15(2)):
- Situations where both:
o the evidence is not provided within the time allowed by the First-tier Tribunal
o no reasonable excuse is provided for missing the deadline.
- Situations where both:
o the evidence is not provided in the way that the First-tier Tribunal has said it should be provided
o no reasonable excuse is given to explain why it wasn’t provided that way
- Situations where the First-tier Tribunal considers it would be unfair to admit the evidence
The First-tier Tribunal cannot consider evidence provided after it has made a decision about the appeal.
The First-tier Tribunal can admit evidence in both of these situations (The First-tier Tribunal for Scotland Social Security Chamber (Procedure) Regulations 2018, Schedule, para 15(3)):
- where the evidence would not be admissible in civil proceedings in Scotland
- where the evidence was not available to a previous decision maker