Re:“You're on the verge of losing everything but you don’t u...
by yason on Wednesday January 31, 2018 @04:40PM
(#16277777)
I almost assumed there must be such people employed but then concluded there cannot be because of the problems mentioned in the article. I'm happy to hear this is how it has been planned and very unhappy to hear that the theory is apparently not working in practice, maybe because of sheer incompetence from (at least) DWP's part.
> An outsider can't be expected to chug along with the ever-mutating directives, laws, guidances, and rules that are part of the bureaucracy's own operation and related legislation. Let the bureau have people who take human descriptions of one's life and work out the best plan out of available benefits. The insiders have the knowledge of what works together and how to make the system work.
In England a "Decision Maker" looks at the details of your case, and applies all the relevant acts, statutes, statutory instruments, and case law you your case.
This person is an expert, employed by the Department for Work and Pensions and all they do is this.
If you think they've got something wrong you can ask for a mandatory reconsideration: they'll have another look. If you still think they're wrong you can go to lower tribunal. A panel looks at the decision. And if they're wrong you can go to upper tribunal.
Here's what a tribunal judge has to say aboutj DWP: https://www.buzzfeed.com/emilydugan/most-dwp-benefits-cases-...
Note that they are fobidden by law from awarding costs. Number 10 here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachm...
The figures for PIP are particularly bad: https://twitter.com/CommonsWorkPen/status/942773136390590465
If you want to look at the book of rules to see how bizarre it is, it's available online. Have a think about how many pages you're expecting, then have a count of the page numbers. https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/decision-makers-gu...