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

Sign up to our newsletter

If you are an organisation or individual who works with people who may need information or support on any of our benefits, sign up to our stakeholder newsletter.

We'll never send you content you haven’t asked for and you can opt out at any time.

Please enter a valid email address

Read our privacy policy