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The appeal hearing

What happens at the appeal hearing?

During the appeal hearing, the SSCSA Tribunal will look at all the evidence given in the appeal submission. Before the hearing takes place, they will provide everyone involved with a copy of all the evidence they have received. This will include any new evidence they received after the Central Appeals Unit sent the appeal submission to the SSCSA Tribunal. This will then be taken into account at the hearing.

There are two types of hearing.

  • A paper hearing means that the appeal will be decided by the SSCSA Tribunal based on the written evidence or information provided.
  • An oral hearing is one you can go to if you want. You have the chance to put your case forward. If you go to an oral hearing, you will be asked to present your case and challenge anything that you are unhappy with. You may also be asked by the tribunal chairperson to explain any of the matters that you are appealing against.

On the pre-hearing enquiry form, which we send to everyone connected to the appeal, we ask what sort of hearing the parent who is appealing would like.

If anyone asks for an oral hearing there will be one. If nobody asks for an oral hearing the appeal will usually be decided by a paper hearing. Even if none of the people involved asks for one, the tribunal chairperson can decide to hold an oral hearing anyway.

If the appeal will be an oral hearing the people involved can ask the SSCSA Tribual Service about using one of the video-conferencing services they have in some locations to reduce how far they need to travel. The Tribunals Service can provide more information.

Who takes part?

In an oral hearing, all the people connected to the appeal can take part, as well as any witnesses. The parent who is appealing can bring a friend or representative to support them, if they feel this would help. Or, they can choose to send someone in their place to represent their views.

The appeal is decided by an independent appeal tribunal. An appeal tribunal, whether for a paper or an oral hearing tribunal, can be made up of:

  • a legally qualified member alone, or
  • a legally qualified member, who will normally be the chairperson, and a member who has financial expertise, such as an accountant. This applies if the SSCSA Tribunal feels that an appeal needs it. This may be because the tribunal needs to decide difficult questions about a parent's accounts.

Tribunal members are appointed by the Tribunals Service and not by the Commission.


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Who else can come to the hearing?

Appeal tribunal hearings are normally held in public. This means that people without any interest in your case, and the press, may go. If you want a private hearing, you can ask on the day of the hearing. The tribunal chairperson (or legally qualified panel member sitting alone) can decide that a hearing should be in private, depending on the case. One of our representatives, called a presenting officer, will also be present.

What happens if I can't get to the hearing?

If a parent wants to go to the hearing, but cannot do so, for example because they are ill or they have transport difficulties, they should contact the Clerk to the Tribunal as soon as possible. Their address and phone number will be on the letter they send to a parent to tell them the date of the hearing. It may be possible to have the hearing postponed or adjourned.

Or the parent may be able to arrange for the appeal hearing to be heard using the video-conferencing services that are available in some of the locations where hearings are held.

The SSCSA Tribunal may pay for some expenses for going to a tribunal, for example travel costs within Great Britain. The SSCSA Tribunal website or office can give more information about expenses.

How does the tribunal give its decision?

The SSCSA Tribunal will send their decision to the parent who appealed in writing after the appeal hearing. The other people involved in the appeal will also receive a copy of the decision. For oral hearings, the SSCSA Tribunal will usually give their decision on the day of the hearing and will confirm their decision in a letter a few days later.

They will also give or send information about:

  • a person's right to ask for a statement of the tribunal's findings and the reasons for the decision (this is called a 'statement of reasons'), and
  • what to do if the parent who appeals disagrees with the SSCSA Tribunal's decision.

If the parent who appeals wants to ask for a statement of reasons or disagrees with the SSCSA Tribunal's decision, they must let the tribunal know within one month of the date of the letter that tells them the decision. A copy of the record of the tribunal proceedings is also available. The parent who appeals has six months to ask for this. After this time, the record may be destroyed.

How will an appeal hearing be arranged?

When our Central Appeals Unit sends out the appeal submission to all the people involved, the SSCSA Tribunal will also send the person who has appealed a pre-hearing enquiry form.

The pre-enquiry form asks the person who has appealed

  • when they will be available to come to an appeal hearing, and
  • whether they want their appeal considered in a 'paper hearing' or an 'oral hearing'.

The appeal submission and all the papers included with it should be carefully checked.

The pre-hearing enquiry form must be filled in and returned to the SSCSA Tribunal in the envelope provided.

If the parent who is appealing is not sure about child maintenance law, or any part of the appeal submission, they may want to get independent advice. This might help them to decide whether or not they agree with what is said in the appeal submission.

Comments, extra information or evidence should be sent to the SSCSA Tribunal regional office dealing with the appeal as soon as possible if the parent appealing

  • does not agree with what has been said, or
  • has any extra information or evidence that they think the appeal tribunal needs to know about.

The sooner this can be sent, the more time SSCSA Tribunal will have to read and understand the extra information. If this information is not seen by the SSCSA Tribunal until the day of the hearing, there is a risk that the tribunal chairperson will decide to move it to another day to give them time to read the new information. The address will be on the enquiry form. The tribunal will send copies of any extra information or evidence to the other people connected to the appeal. They send the same form and appeal submission to all people connected to the appeal.

The pre-hearing enquiry form must be sent back within 14 days. If the SSCSA Tribunal does not receive the form in time, they may decide not to go ahead with the appeal. This is known as 'striking out' an appeal.

If the SSCSA Tribunal strikes out the appeal and the parent who is appealing does not agree with the decision, they can ask for their appeal to be 'reinstated'. The SSCSA Tribunal will tell them how to do this.

When will my hearing take place?

The SSCSA Tribunal will normally tell the parent who is appealing when and where their oral hearing will be at least 14 days before it takes place.

Sometimes a decision can be made more quickly if the parent who is appealing agrees to an oral hearing with less notice. The SSCSA Tribunal will write to them, and the other people connected to the appeal, asking for their permission if there is an early appeal hearing available. In these circumstances, the oral hearing will only go ahead if everyone agrees that it can.


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Related information

Other websites

  • How to Appeal - A guide from the Tribunals Service designed to help you understand the appeals procedure