How to read a DWP appeal response without panicking

The first time I opened a DWP appeal response I read the summary, felt sick, and put it in a drawer for three days. That was a mistake. The response is not a judgment. It is one party’s argument, and it often contains the material you need to win.

Remember who wrote it

The response is written by DWP to defend its own decision. The judge knows that. It will usually present the evidence in the light most favourable to the decision. Your job is to show the judge the rest of the picture.

A four-pass method

Pass one: just read it. Make a cup of tea and read the response section from start to finish. Do not make notes. Let the reaction pass.

Pass two: list the facts. Go through again and write down every statement of fact in a numbered list.

Pass three: mark each one. Agree, disagree, or not relevant. For each “disagree”, note the page in the bundle or the document you have that shows the truth.

Pass four: look for gaps. Did DWP deal with every one of your grounds? Did it apply the right test? Did it describe your evidence accurately?

What to look out for

• Mislabelled or misdescribed documents. A document described inaccurately, dated wrongly or attributed to the wrong person.
• The wrong standard. Disputed facts are decided on the balance of probabilities. If the response treats only official documents as good enough, that is a higher bar than the law sets.
• Missing grounds. If you raised a point and the response is silent, note it politely in your reply.
• Later events. The tribunal looks at the circumstances at the date of the decision. Check whether the response relies on things that happened afterwards.

Turn your list into a reply

Your numbered list is now the skeleton of your written reply. Respond point by point, using the response’s own paragraph and page numbers, and finish with exactly what you want the tribunal to decide.