Mr M's truly amazing Social Security Appeal Tribunal

Something very unusual and exciting happened upstairs behind the Ann Summers shop in Bath Street today, Wednesday 14 August 2013. In fact it was the first time that it had occurred in recently recorded history, was in public and yours truly was there to witness it! (along with a fellow SSTAG supporter) Amazing but true! Yes – you guessed – it was that very rare creature a SOCIAL SECURITY APPEAL TRIBUNAL and was even more remarkable for some other reasons too…. Firstly, the person making the appeal – we shall call him Mr M – was not present (because he lives overseas) and was not even represented. Therefore he could not object to the public being present to observe the proceedings (dedicated readers of this page will know that the very few previous so called “public” hearings have been closed to the public (like us from SSTAG) on grounds of privacy. On this occasion we had reported at the JET desk at 9.15am in accordance with the instructions posted on the outside door and been told to wait... The three Appeal Panellists, Chair Advocate Thacker with Messrs Esnouf and Hall, entered the room at 9.30am precisely and proceeded, without making any introductions or clarifications, to discuss the contents of the applicant’s file with two officers from the Social Security Department. The officers gave their names but as is usual in such cases, they have been taught to mumble in a particularly skilful way at the SS Training Camp, so that it is impossible to hear who they are, from the public seats. One of the officers – the male one – as it later transpired - was the “deliberating officer” who had upheld the internal SS Departmental “reconsideration” of a fellow “deliberating officer’s” previous refusal of Mr M’s application for “invalidity benefit”. But it was the female officer who did most of the initial talking which was mainly answering questions from the Panel although she did read out a previously prepared “précis” of the case. It transpired that Mr M had lived overseas for many years and had long term health problems that included depression, heart problems and chronic fatigue syndrome. His overseas (foreign) doctor – a cardiologist – had consistently determined that Mr M was not capable of working and signed repeated certificates to say so. There was a reciprocal agreement in place between the government of Jersey and the foreign territory to accept each other’s medical certificates but the SS Determining officer wanted a foreign medical board assessment too. This was duly provided together with another one which hinted that Mr M might be capable of some light work – although it was disputed (in the correspondence) if the foreign Board doctors had ever (or properly) examined Mr M. According to the Jersey “invalidity law”, so the SS officer said, a medical certificate must state that the claimant is not fit for work. Anything less – such as might be fit for light work – negates any invalidity benefit claim. It is all or nothing, although there are OTHER benefits that might be applied for if appropriate… Listening from the public seats, a picture soon emerged of a determining officer who was determined to reject Mr M’s claim for benefit. The foreign cardiologist was dismissed as a mere “GP” and unsubstantial opinion, based upon little or no examination was to be preferred. To bolster up the rejection, no less than five Jersey doctors were subsequently employed to join the chorus that Mr M was fit for some light work, although not one of them had ever actually seen him! The SS determining officer’s final plea to the foreign administration to appoint yet another “medical board” fell on deaf ears – they had presumably grown tired of the Jersey SS Department, in spite of being paid to carry out the work. There was, in any case so it transpired, no provision within the Jersey law for yet another board at all but the officers considered it “practice” if necessary to call for one… Nevertheless, the determining officer persisted that “on a balance of probabilities” that Mr M was capable of some light work and upheld the previous decision to reject his invalidity claim. Fortunately, this tribunal was made of sterner stuff. At 10.20am the trio left the room to deliberate. They returned at 10.35am to announce that the appeal had been allowed. They would issue some written recommendations to the SS Department in due course. Presumably somebody would inform Mr M that he had won. But shall anybody inform Senator Le Gresley about this latest sad tale from his department’s failing administration?