Appealing against our decisions
- What decisions made by the Child Support Agency (CSA) can people appeal against?
- Are there any decisions that can't be appealed against?
- What should people do if they think the CSA has made the wrong decision about how much child maintenance should be paid?
- How long do appeals take?
- Who hears the appeals?
- Does the CSA have to follow the tribunal's decision?
- What happens if the tribunal decides the original decision was correct?
- What can people do if they disagree with the tribunal's decision?
Q. What decisions made by the Child Support Agency (CSA) can people appeal against?
A. Each time the CSA makes a decision about the amount of child maintenance that a
non-resident must pay, either parent has the right to appeal against it. There are other decisions they
can appeal against. They are listed in our leaflet "How can I appeal against a child maintenance decision?" [PDF 202KB]
.
Q. Are there any decisions that can't be appealed against?
A. Yes. Parents cannot appeal against administrative decisions about collecting and enforcing child maintenance payments. For example, a decision by us to use a compulsory deduction from earnings order to collect unpaid child maintenance from a non-resident parent. However, they might be able to go to court to challenge such decisions.
They cannot appeal against a decision because they are denying that they are the child's parent. We use a separate process to manage disputes over this.
See our factsheet on disputing parentage or read our leaflet "What happens
when someone denies they are the parent of a child?" [PDF 184KB]
Our Central Appeals Unit may also decide not to proceed with the appeal if it has no reasonable prospect of success because it is against something that is set out in law, such as the way we work out child maintenance.
Q. What should people do if they think the Child Support Agency (CSA) has made the wrong decision about how much child maintenance should be paid?
A. If someone thinks that the CSA has made the wrong decision they should get in touch and:
- ask the CSA to explain their decision or look at the decision again, or
- tell us they want to make a formal appeal.
If any of the information people have given us to use to work out child maintenance has changed, they must tell us and ask us to look at the decision again.
Our leaflet "How can I appeal against a child maintenance decision?" [PDF 202KB]
explains more about this.
Some important points about changing our decision.
- If we, or a tribunal, make a new decision, it may either increase or reduce the amount of child maintenance due.
- While a decision is being looked at again or appealed against, it will stay in force. The non-resident parent must still pay child maintenance until the issue is sorted out.
Q. How long do appeals take?
A.There are up to three stages to the appeals process.
Stage 1 - At this stage we will look at the appeal and either:
- revise the decision ourselves; or
- submit the appeal to the Social Security CSA Tribunals Service for action.
Currently around half of all appeals are resolved within the CSA at this stage.
This stage will take an average of 10 weeks.
Stage 2 - If the Tribunals Service is dealing with the appeal, they will investigate and notify us of their decision within 19 weeks of the appeal being submitted to them.
Stage 3 - Once the Tribunals Service has notified us of their decision, we will revise our child maintenance decision if necessary. This stage will take an average of one week.
Q. Who hears the appeals?
A. Appeals are heard by the Social Security and Child Support Agency (SSCSA) Tribunal, part of the Tribunals Service. The Tribunals Service is part of Ministry for Justice and provides common administrative support for the main central government tribunals.
Appeals are heard by a legally qualified member, and sometimes a member who has financial expertise, such as an accountant. Tribunal members are appointed by the Tribunals Service, not by us or the Department for Work and Pensions.
Q. Does the CSA have to follow the tribunal's decision?
A. Yes. If the SSCSA Tribunal changes the decision that was appealed against, the case will be returned to us with their decision. This will include directions (or instructions) on what to do to put the decision right. The new decision may mean that the amount of child maintenance changes and so payments will be either higher or lower.
Q. What happens if the tribunal decides the original decision was correct?
A. If the SSCSA Tribunal decides our original decision was correct, then our decision will stand.
Q. What can people do if they disagree with the tribunal's decision?
A. If the tribunal followed procedures properly and their decision is legally correct, its decision cannot be changed.
If parents disagree with the SSCSA Tribunal's decision, there are two ways they can ask for it to be reviewed or changed:
- The decision can be set aside which basically means it is overruled. This action can be taken if documents were not sent to someone involved in the appeal or someone who should have been at the oral hearing wasn't there.
- They can appeal to the Child Support Commissioner, who can overturn a SSCSA Tribunal's decision if it is wrong in law. The Child Support Commissioner is an independent body outside the CSA
