The cases we handle
Maladministration
Upper Tribunal judges may only consider whether a decision of the First-tier Tribunal is wrong in law. They cannot consider issues of maladministration, such as delay, loss of papers, or other administrative errors of government departments or of tribunal staff unless those errors are, or cause, errors of law in the decision of the Tribunal. (An example of such an error might be the loss of a Tribunal's record of proceedings after a hearing because the tribunal decision is not then adequate.)
Upper Tribunal judges have no power to order compensation payments, for example, for financial loss caused by delay.
If you want to complain about maladministration and/or claim compensation for financial loss, you should first contact the office about which you have the complaint:
- Complaints about tribunal administration – see our guide A positive step forward – Your guide to giving feedback
- Claims for compensation from the Department for Work and Pensions – see the guide Financial Redress for Maladministration
- For complaints about maladministration concerning Her Majesty' s Revenue and Customs, including tax credits, benefits and contributions issues, see Factsheet C/FS – Complaints and putting things right and the HMRC Complaints webpage
Taking your complaint further
- If you are not satisfied with the response to your complaint about a government department, or the Tribunals Service or HM Court Service, you can take it to the your member of Parliament, and the MP may refer it to the Parliamentary Ombudsman under the provisions of the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967.
- If you are not satisfies with the response to your complaint about the HMRC, you can take it to the HMRC Adjudicator. More information on how to refer a complaint is available from the Adjudicator's Office or in the Factsheet C/FS – Complaints and putting things right. if you are still not satisfied you can pursue the complaint to the Parliamentary Ombudsman via your MP as explained above.
The following separate local government ombudsmen deal with complaints about the way local authorities handle issues for each of the countries in the United Kingdom:
- England – Local Government Ombudsman
- Scotland – Scottish Public Services Ombudsman
- Wales – Public Services Ombudsman for Wales
- For details of these and all other Ombudsman schemes see the site of the British and Irish Ombudsmen's Association
Note:
From 3 November 2008 the new Upper Tribunal has taken over the work of the Social Security, Child Support and Pensions Appeal Commissioners. The Commissioners formerly handled appeals from tribunals that are now covered by the Social Entitlement Chamber, and the War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal.
The Upper Tribunal also deals with appeals from the Health, Education and Social Care Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal.
This page was last updated on 03 November 2008
