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 (Rules of Procedure) 2018, rule 15(1)):

• 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 (Rules of Procedure) 2018, rule 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 (Rules of Procedure) 2018, rule 15(2)):

• Situations where both:
  • the evidence is not provided within the time allowed by the First-tier Tribunal and no reasonable excuse is provided for missing the deadline
  • the evidence is provided in a way that does not comply with an order or practice direction and there is no reasonable excuse provided
  • the Tribunal considers it would be unfair to admit the evidence
• 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 (Rules of Procedure) 2018, rule 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