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Neutral Citation Number:
Reported Number:	R(H)4/08
File Number:	CH 402 2007
Appellant:
Respondent:
Judge/Commissioner:	Judge E. Jacobs
Date Of Decision:	05/09/2007
Date Added:	14/09/2007
Main Category:	Housing and council tax benefits
Main Subcategory:	other
Secondary Category:	Tribunal procedure and practice (including UT)
Secondary Subcategory:	tribunal jurisdiction
Notes:	Tribunal jurisdiction – council tax benefit – termination following suspension of award – whether decision appealable The claimant was receiving state pension credit and council tax benefit. The local authority issued to him a short review form asking for some basic information relevant to entitlement. The claimant did not complete the form and ignored a reminder, which warned that benefit might be suspended if he did not provide the information requested. The claimant did not reply and benefit was first suspended under regulation 13 of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations 2001 (the 2001 Regulations) and then terminated under regulation 14. The claimant appealed, but the appeal tribunal dismissed the appeal. The claimant appealed to the Commissioner, arguing that the local authority had not acted reasonably under the Verification Framework in requiring him to provide some of the information requested. Before the Commissioner the issue arose as to whether there was a right of appeal against a decision to terminate an award following suspension, since there was an apparent contradiction within the legislation. The issue was whether a termination decision was a “relevant decision” within the definition in paragraph 1(2) to Schedule 7 to the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 2000, and therefore appealable, or an administrative decision outside the normal decision-revision-supersession rules and therefore not appealable. Regulation 14 of the 2001 Regulations provides that a person shall “cease to be entitled” to benefit from the date of suspension, but paragraph 5(b) of the Schedule to the 2001 Regulations prescribes a decision that entitlement to benefit is terminated under regulation 14 as having a right of appeal. Held, dismissing the appeal, that: 1. the cessation of entitlement under paragraph 15 and regulation 14 must take effect by a decision of the local authority as for it take effect simply by operation of law would make it unique within the structure of the legislation, and that view is supported by paragraph 5 of the Schedule to the 2001 Regulations, which assumes that a decision is required (paragraph 28); 2. the decision–-revision–-supersession provisions are the only express decision-making provisions for council tax benefit once a claim has been decided and a termination decision fits within that framework as taking effect on supersession of the awarding decision on the basis of a change of circumstances under regulation 7(2)(a)(1) of the 2001 Regulations, whether that change of circumstances is the operation of regulation 14 or the facts underlying the operation of regulation 14 (paragraphs 30 to 31); 3. although regulation 8 purports to fix the effective date for supersession decisions made under regulation 7(2)–(7) and makes no provision for termination decisions, it must be read as limited to matters authorised by paragraph 4(6) of Schedule 7, whereas the effective date for termination decisions is governed by regulation 14 (paragraph 32); 4. a termination decision is therefore a “relevant decision” and within the right of appeal under paragraph 6(1) (paragraph 33); 5. the issue for the tribunal was whether the local authority had acted in accordance with regulation 72 of the Council Tax Benefit Regulations 2006 in its request for information and not whether it had followed the guidelines in the Verification Framework (paragraph 36); 6. the tribunal was right to accept jurisdiction and to decide the appeal as it did (paragraph 38).
Decision(s) to Download:	R(H) 4-08.doc