Work and Pensions Committee - Second Report
Decision making and appeals in the benefits system

---

Here you can browse the report together with the Proceedings of the Committee. The published report was ordered by the House of Commons to be printed 27 January 2010.

Contents

---

Terms of Reference

1  Introduction

2  The Decision Making and Appeals (DMA) System: 1998 reforms to present

DMA reforms since 1998
Responsibility for decision making

Challenging decisions

Responsibility for appeals

Monitoring standards of decision making

Impact of reforms to DMA

Abolition of the roles of Chief Adjudication Office (CAO) and Adjudication Officer (AO)

Measures of decision making standards

Monitoring standards of decision making

3  Collecting and Evaluating Evidence

Collecting evidence
Benefit complexity

Claim forms

Medical assessments

Evaluating the evidence

Weight given to medical assessments

Training for decision makers

Contact with claimants

Notification Letters

4  Reviewing Decisions

The dispute period

Reconsiderations for DLA and AA

Reconsideration for Incapacity Benefit (IB) and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)

5  The Appeals Process

Appeals guidance
Welfare rights advice

Time limits for submitting evidence

Recording appeals as an end-to-end process

Oral hearings

Claimants' experience of the tribunal

Employment and Support Allowance appeals

Attendance of DWP presenting officers

Feedback to individual decision makers on appealed decisions

Reducing the number of appeals: the Alternative Resolution Pilot

6  Conclusion

Recommendations

Annex A : Appeals Statistics

Annex B: Organogram of the decision making and appeals process

Annex C: Note of meeting with judges from the Administrative Appeals Chamber of the Upper Tribunal, 22 October 2009

Annex D: Note of Committee visit to Leeds, 2 November 2009

Formal Minutes

Witnesses

List of written evidence

List of Reports from the Committee during the current Parliament

Oral and Written Evidence

Monday 26 October 2009

Monday 9 November 2009

Written Evidence

---

---

Prepared 9 February 2010