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Right to Appeal to the First-tier Tribunal
An individual has the right to appeal to the First-tier Tribunal against a re determination of their entitlement to assistance (SS(S) Act 2018, s.46(1)(a)).
There may be cases where the re-determination is not completed within 56 calendar days of the request for the re-determination being made. In these cases, Social Security Scotland notifies the individual that it has failed to make the re determination in the time allowed, and gives the individual a form to complete if the individual wants to appeal.
The individual has the right to complete the appeal form and return it to Social Security Scotland if they do not want to wait for the re-determination to be carried out (SS(S) Act 2018, s.46(1)(b)).
Example: an individual’s right to appeal when a re-determination is not made in time
Otis does not agree with the determination made by Social Security Scotland on his application for PADP. He asks for a re-determination 30 days after he receives the original notification.
Social Security Scotland has to make a re-determination within 56 calendar days of receiving the request from Otis. Social Security Scotland have not yet made the redetermination 56 days after they receive Otis’s request and notify him of that fact.
Otis now has the right to submit an appeal form to Social Security Scotland because it has not made a re-determination within 56 days.
Social Security Scotland sends Otis’s completed appeal form to the First-tier Tribunal along with the information it used to make the determination.
See the chapter on re-determinations for more information about both:
- late requests for re-determinations
- what counts as a good reason for a late request for a re-determination.
An individual also has the right to appeal against Social Security Scotland’s process decisions (SS(S) Act 2018, s.61). This means that an individual has the right to appeal a decision that does not accept that the individual has:
- made a valid application for assistance
- made a valid request for a re-determination of their entitlement
- a “good reason” for requesting a re-determination after 42 calendar days of the original determination, but within 12 months.
Example: an individual’s right to appeal a process decision
Kay does not agree with the determination made by Social Security Scotland on their application for PADP. They ask for a re-determination 60 days after they receive the original notification. Kay explains that they forgot about the 42 day time limit to apply for a re-determination.
Social Security Scotland does not accept that Kay has a good reason for requesting it after 42 days. Kay has the right to apply directly to the First-tier Tribunal to appeal this decision.