Hi, my name is AshleyHall1! How long does an SOR take?

AshleyHall1

Hi.

I won my pip appeal on October 8th and the DWP have asked the court for an SOR. Please can somebody tell me how long this should take and what the chances of DWP appealing this are please? My claim has been going on since 23/05/2023 and this is affecting my mental health to an all time low now.

poppy123456

This seems to be happening more recently. There's no timescales how long it takes for the Judge to write them. DWP very rarely challenge the decision, which they can't do anyway, unless they find the error in law.

AshleyHall1

Thank you,

what can these reasons be do you know please? It seems like they’re they in to undermine a judge and doctors? I also have my local MP on board so hoping this will also help? It’s such a stressful process and not even all about the money. The fact that I won my appeal made me feel like I was being believed after being knocked back by DWP on 2 previous occasions, I sent 17 pieces of evidence in so do find it so hard to see how they can try to reverse the decision by the professionals.

Albus_Scope

Heya @AshleyHall1 welcome to the community. 😊

As Poppy has said, nothing can be done unless they can prove there's been an error in law, which is extremely rare, so I'd try not to worry too much. It does feel like they do these things just to stall for time in some cases. Hopefully they wont keep you waiting too long.

AshleyHall1

Thank you.

Does anyone have example of what an error in law could be please?

Morgan_Scope

Hello @AshleyHall1, it could be any number of things and is a little beyond our expertise as we are not legally trained. It's not uncommon for the DWP to request a statement of reasons and then not continue with an appeal, they can also ask for it to better understand the decision made.

However, I've listed a couple of broad examples of error in law for benefit tribunals below:

• Misinterpretation of Regulations: The tribunal may incorrectly interpret the relevant regulations or guidance, leading to an erroneous conclusion about a claimant's eligibility.

• Failure to Consider Relevant Evidence: If the tribunal overlooks or fails to properly weigh key medical evidence, personal statements, or other relevant documentation.

• Inadequate Reasons for Decision: The tribunal must provide clear and adequate reasons for its decision. If the reasons are vague or insufficient, this could constitute an error in law.

AshleyHall1

thank you very much for this.

poppy123456

DWP have the same chance we do to appeal the decision but the same as us they need to find the error in law first.

AshleyHall1

Thank you,

I’m hoping that a judge hasn’t made an error in law, surely they know the system enough not to make an error in law

poppy123456

Errors in law do happen. It's very rare for DWP to challenge the decision, even though they sometimes request the SOR and ROP.