THIS popular weekly column by welfare rights expert Jim Strang looks at evidence improperly obtained by an adjudication officer and the position of tribunals on this point. This follows on from a recent commissioner's decision

COMMISSIONER'S

DECISION CDLA/237/1997

Commissioner Walker confirmed the view that he had taken rather tentatively in an earlier decision CSDLA/121/1997, that where an adjudication officer had obtained or retired upon information which had been obtained improperly to disturb a life award of Disability Living Allowance (DLA), that, contrary to the legislation, a tribunal must restore the life award which has been wrongly reviewed by an adjudication officer.

SECRETARY OF STATE

The Commissioner, however, stated that the Secretary of State could produce fresh evidence to the adjudication officer relating to the component in question care or mobility. There would then be information available to the adjudicating officer which could be considered properly under the legislation.

WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?

Clearly there will be a confusion where a DSS official is wearing both hats - that of the adjudication officer and that of the person acting on behalf of the Secretary of State. There is also a conflicting Commissioner's decision which states that information obtained illegally can be considered, but I do not think that to be the correct approach in this type of situation.

JIM STRANG'S OPINION

When the situation arises and a life award of DLA is disturbed, then advice should be obtained immediately from an expert in this field. The appeal papers have to be considered very carefully and any decision by the Secretary of State and the adjudication officer have to be clearly distinguished. There are often many errors in the papers and the DLA unit seek to implement decision on many occasions unlawfully.

BENEFIT INTEGRITY PROJECT (BIP) TO END

The BIP drive by the DSS, which has caused so much grief to the genuine disabled and unnecessary stress to many others, is to finish. In October last year the closure was discussed by the Government. It is not all a bed of roses, however and the DLA review motion is set to survive with regular checks on DLA. The project is to be replaced with a fairer system with regular checks to ensure that the correct amount of benefit is being paid. Somehow this stinks of the same information given out when the BIP was being announced. I do not expect it will get any better for people with life awards.

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.