Many hearings happen over video now. However, some are still face-to-face. Whatever kind of hearing you have you should prepare in a similar way.

Sometimes the tribunal will decide the case in your favour just on the evidence, statement, or your explanation on the appeal form. If this happens they may ring you the day before or tell you at the beginning of the hearing. 

In the unlikely event that the panel are considering reducing your existing award (for example because you appealed the decision not to give you the high rate of care and the panel feel that you may only be entitled to the lower rate or no award at all), the judge will give you warning and ask if you want a few minutes to consider your options. This is very rare. But if it does happen to you, ask for the hearing to be stopped and explain that you wish to withdraw the appeal. If you do this, the Tribunal is very unlikely to take away the benefit you get at the moment.

Who will be at the hearing

The person running the hearing is the Judge. They are legally qualified and should know a lot about benefits. There will be up to 2 other independent people, including a doctor and maybe a third person who knows a lot about disability, and may have a disability themselves. The panel should introduce themselves and explain what will happen.

Remember the panel do not work for the DWP. They are here to see that you get the benefit if you can show you are entitled to it. 

Usually, the panel will be nice and easy to talk to, and will just want to get a full picture of your child’s illness or disability and the help they need.

 Try to answer their questions fully.

The DWP has a right to have somebody at the appeal to explain why they made their decision. Don't worry about this though. If they do send someone, it will not be the person that made the original decision about your claim.

At the end of the hearing

The panel will usually make the decision that day. This usually takes between 10-30 minutes. They will give you a written outline of their decision as well.

Sometimes the panel will not be able to make a decision quickly. If this happens, they will post it to you instead. It should arrive within a week.

Whether you have a video hearing or face-to-face hearing these tips will help you get the right award, and stop it from becoming too stressful.
 

• If you think it might help, ask a friend or family member to come with you for emotional support. They might also be able to help by reminding you of things you have forgotten. If you do ask a friend, show them Friend or relative?
• The panel may be running late and so you might have to wait. If you have made any notes of what you want to say, go over them. Try to keep calm.
• Many people find they get very emotional at the hearing. It doesn't matter if you get upset. It won't make any difference to your chances.
• If you had asked for any help with communication or translation and it is not available, you should insist on having the hearing another day.
• If you sent them any evidence before the hearing, check that they received it.
• If you don't understand a question ask them to repeat it or put it another way. If you still don’t understand, tell them that.
• If they say something that isn’t right, make it clear that it is not true. For example, if they say “He doesn’t have much trouble with walking does he?” make it clear if your child does have trouble with going places.
• Don't worry about using the 'right' language or ‘buzz words’. It is much better to use your own words. If you think they haven't understood something you have said, say it again in a different way.
• It's tempting to gloss over the difficulties your child has but try not to. Be as frank as you can be.
• Parents often want to explain the impact of meeting the extra care needs their child has on the rest of their family or their own health. Try not to do this as it is a distraction. Just explain what extra help your child needs and why they need it.
• Try to answer every question as broadly as you can. If you just give short answers, the panel won’t be able to get a better understanding of your situation. So try to give longer answers and be willing to explain things. For example, if they ask if your child needs extra help to get washed in the morning, don’t just say yes or no. Tell them if they do, what they need help with, how long it takes you, how they respond, and if they need help with anything else in the morning.

• If you find you haven't said everything you want to say because they haven't asked the right question - tell them anyway. It is important that you say everything. A clever tactic is to make notes about what you want to tell them and tick them off as you say them. Make sure that they are all ticked off before you leave. If you need to, you can ask them to wait a moment while you check your notes. If you have taken somebody with you for moral support, this is a very useful thing for them to do.

  If your child’s condition goes up and down and they need different amounts of help on different days, you will need to make this clear. It is best if you can say roughly how often you need help with each thing, rather than saying 'sometimes'. For example, ‘David's condition is bad for three weeks out of every four. For those weeks his joints are very painful and he cannot walk very far or stand'.

The tribunal panel will tell the DWP their decision and you’ll get an official notice of the decision.

If you were successful, the DWP will work out how much they owe you. You will start receiving the new amount every month, and a sum covering the amount they should have been paying you all along. You will usually receive your money in about 4 - 6 weeks.

You should also check if you will now be entitled to extra benefits like Carer’s Allowance and Universal Credit. If you already receive Universal Credit, the amount you recieve may go up as you will now be entitled to the disabled child element. For some parents, these additional benefits are worth more than the DLA. Check if you are entitled to any extra benefits now by speaking to an adviser (see How to find an adviser) or by using the benefits calculator on the Turn2Us website.

If you weren't successful, you will be sent a leaflet to explain your options. Sometimes you might be able to appeal to the Upper Tribunal. This is like a higher court. However, this can only be done if the panel did something wrong with the law. It is very complicated, and very few people can do this without an experienced adviser. If you want to look into this possibility, you need to move quickly - you will need to ask for a copy of the tribunal’s statement of reasons within one month. See  How to find an adviser.

The DWP also has the right to appeal to the Upper Tribunal if they think the tribunal panel did something wrong. This rarely happens. If it does happen, they will write and tell you.

Disclaimer

The law is complicated. We recommend you try to get advice from the sources we have suggested.

The cases we refer to are not always real but show a typical situation. We have included them to help you think about how to deal with your own situation.

Acknowledgement

This guide was written and produced by Advicenow. Thanks to the Ministry of Justice for funding this update.

Advicenow would like to thank all those who provided advice and feedback on this guide, particularly Jane Owen-Pam, Rachel Ingleby,  Jim McKenny, Yvonne Deal from Hertfordshire County Council,  and all the parents of claimants of DLA who made up our panel. Thanks also to Nicky Rees of Cystic Fibrosis Trust for peer reviewing this updated version.