Appeal the decision

If you have made a claim for a Social Security benefit and you disagree with the decision we have made about it, your first course of action should be to ask us to explain why we have made that decision.

You can ask us to send you a written statement of reasons for the decision. We will send you a statement within 14 days.

In most cases, a different member of staff will consider the question, and if it appears that the original decision was wrong we will change it. If we cannot change the decision, you have a further month in which to appeal against it.

You can take an appeal to an independent tribunal. It may be possible to get free representation by an articled clerk to a law firm at the Social Security Appeals Tribunal. For more information about this please tel: +44 1624 685023. The tribunal is made up of people who do not work for the Treasury and may include a doctor or disability expert.

The tribunal will look at the evidence, the law and the circumstances at the time we made our decision. The tribunal cannot look at changes in circumstances since we made our decision. Nor can it change the law.

If you disagree with the decision made at your appeal you may be able to appeal to the Social Security Commissioner. The commissioner can only hear appeals relating to a point of law, rather than facts or medical findings.

If you would like to know more about Social Security appeals either visit the website via the related links on the right or tel: +44 1624 685023.