Social Security Advice

FRU has over 30 years' experience of representing clients in all areas of Social Security law. We deal with all aspects of Social Security law that go before a tribunal.

To access our services, cases have to be referred to us through one of our Referral Agencies. We cannot accept referrals directly from members of the public. As we are essentially an advocacy service, providing representation at tribunal and before the commissioners, we do not take on a case until it has a date of hearing.

Once you have received a date of hearing, take your papers to one of our Referral Agencies: Citizens Advice Bureaux, Law Centres, and some Solicitors. They will photocopy the bundle, complete a referral form and forward the case to us. If necessary, the Referral Agency can assist you with any preparation for your case. When case papers come into the office, they are logged onto our database, then passed to the caseworker who grades the cases according to complexity. They are then put into files for the Representatives. The cases are not allocated. Representatives take on a case if it is listed for a day on which they are free and if it is graded appropriately for their experience.

Our volunteer Representatives come from a variety of legal backgrounds: from people in the final year of their law degree to QC barristers. They all represent clients as FRU Representatives, irrespective of their formal qualifications. They are all trained by FRU to do our cases and will not be allowed to take out a case unless they have the relevant experience.

Although we deal with all areas of Social Security law, we receive a lot of referrals related to particular benefits or entitlement conditions such as: Disability Living Allowance, Incapacity for Work, Habitual Residency Test, Overpayments, Capital Rule, Housing Benefit and Council Tax appeals. This has enabled us to build up a pool of expertise in these areas.

Where an appeal relates to a disability issue, tribunals place a lot of weight on medical evidence. Many of the Disability Living Allowance or Incapacity Appeals contain a medical report completed by a doctor on behalf of the Department of Work and Pensions. Many clients are unhappy with these reports. The best way to refute these reports is with further medical evidence from someone with detailed knowledge of the client's condition, such as a GP, consultant, physiotherapist, occupational therapist, community nurse, members of a mental health team, etc. FRU frequently helps clients get further medical evidence, however if cases come with this evidence there is a better chance of it getting representation. If your Referral Agency can help you to get further medical evidence, please take advantage of it, but do not worry if they can not do this as we can help you.

It is important to know that when you appeal for a higher rate of Disability Living Allowance (i.e. you have an award for some Disability Living Allowance but your condition has got worse and you want to apply for a higher rate), the tribunal will look at your case afresh and they can decrease as well as increase your award. If an appeal is unsuccessful, we are happy to advise you on appeal and to represent you if the decision can be appealed.

Because we are dependant on volunteers' availability, we cannot guarantee to represent every case which is referred to us.  We obviously try to take on as many cases as we can. Nevertheless, you should not assume that we will take on a case that has been referred to us. 

If we can take your case, a volunteer will make direct contact with you.  Until and unless you hear from us, your safest course of action is to prepare your case on the basis that you will have to represent yourself.