The Scottish Child Payment Regulations 2020

PART 4 Appeals

Right to appeal to the First-tier Tribunal against determination

19.—(1) An individual may appeal to the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland—

(a) against a determination under paragraph 16 of the individual’s entitlement to a Scottish child payment, or

(b) in a case where sub-paragraph (2) applies, against the determination under paragraph 3 referred to in that sub-paragraph.

(2) This sub-paragraph applies where—

(a) having been informed of a determination under paragraph 3 of the individual’s entitlement to a Scottish child payment, the individual has made a request for a re-determination under paragraph 14, and

(b) the Scottish Ministers have failed to make a determination under paragraph 16 in consequence of that request within the period of 16 working days described in paragraph 16(2).

Initiating an appeal

20.—(1) To bring an appeal against a determination, an individual must submit to the Scottish Ministers the form provided under paragraph 17(1)(b) or (as the case may be) paragraph 18(1)(b) in relation to the determination.

(2) On receiving a form submitted under sub-paragraph (1), the Scottish Ministers must send—

(a) the form, and

(b) the information held by them that they used to make the determination in question,

to the First-tier Tribunal.

(3) Having complied with sub-paragraph (2), the Scottish Ministers must inform the individual to whom the determination in question relates that they have done so.

(4) In this paragraph, references to a form include a copy of a form.

(5) For the avoidance of doubt, the form that the Scottish Ministers provide under paragraph 17 and 18 need not be a physical form.

Deadline for appealing

21.—(1) An appeal under paragraph 19—

(a) may be brought without the First-tier Tribunal’s permission if an appeal application is made within the period of 31 days beginning with the day the relevant event occurred,

(b) may be brought only with the First-tier Tribunal’s permission if an appeal application is made after the period mentioned in sub-paragraph (1)(a),

(c) may not be brought if an appeal application has not been made within the period of one year beginning with the day the relevant event occurred.

(2) In sub-paragraph (1)—

(a) “the relevant event” means—

(i) in the case of an appeal against a determination under paragraph 16(1), the individual to whom the determination relates being informed of it in accordance with paragraph 17(1),

(ii) in the case of an appeal against a determination under paragraph 3 the individual to whom the determination relates being informed (in accordance with paragraph 18(1)) that the individual has the right to appeal against it,

(b) an appeal application is made when a form, that relates to the determination in question and has been completed to the extent that Scottish Tribunal Rules(1) require, is received by the Scottish Ministers having been submitted in accordance with paragraph 20(1).

(3) The First-tier Tribunal may give permission under sub-paragraph (1)(b) for an appeal to be brought only if it is satisfied that there is a good reason for the application not having been made sooner.

First-tier Tribunal’s power to determine entitlement

22.  In an appeal under paragraph 19 against a determination of an individual’s entitlement to a Scottish child payment, the First-tier Tribunal may—

(a) uphold the determination, or

(b) make its own determination of the individual’s entitlement to a Scottish child payment.

Appeal to First-tier Tribunal against process decisions

23.—(1) An individual may appeal to the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland against a decision by the Scottish Ministers—

(a) to reject something purporting to be an application for assistance (see paragraph 1)),

(b) that something purporting to be a request for a re-determination does not satisfy the condition in paragraph 14(4),

(c) that an individual has no good reason for not requesting a re-determination sooner (see paragraph 15).

(2) An appeal under this paragraph—

(a) may be brought without the First-tier Tribunal’s permission within the period of 31 days beginning with the day the individual was informed of the decision in accordance with these Regulations,

(b) may be brought only with the First-tier Tribunal’s permission after the period mentioned in sub-paragraph (2)(a),

(c) may not be brought after the end of the period of one year beginning with the day the individual was informed of the decision in accordance with these Regulations.

(3) The First-tier Tribunal may give permission under sub-paragraph (2)(b) for an appeal to be made only if it is satisfied that there is a good reason for the appeal not having been made sooner.

(4) A decision by the First-tier Tribunal about—

(a) the outcome of an appeal under this paragraph, or

(b) whether to give permission under sub-paragraph (2)(b) for an appeal to be brought,

is final.

(5) Accordingly (and without prejudice to the generality of sub-paragraph (4)), any such decision by the First-tier Tribunal may be neither—

(a) reviewed under section 43 of the Tribunals (Scotland) Act 2014(2), nor

(b) appealed against under section 46 of that Act.

Presumption for purposes of paragraphs 4, 14, 15, 17, 18 and 20

24.—(1) Sub-paragraph (2) applies in relation to the references in paragraphs 4, 14, 15, 17, 18, and 20 to an individual being informed of something by the Scottish Ministers in accordance with these Regulations.

(2) Where, in order to fulfil their duty to inform an individual of something, the Scottish Ministers send information—

(a) through the postal service to the last known address the Scottish Ministers have for the individual, or

(b) by email to the email address most recently provided to the Scottish Ministers by the individual for the purposes of these Regulations,

the individual is to be taken to have received the information 48 hours after it is sent by the Scottish Ministers unless the contrary is shown.

(1)

Section 68(2) of the Tribunals (Scotland) Act 2014 asp 10.

(2)

2014 asp 10.