IN THE UPPER TRIBUNAL Appeal No. CCS/2999/2008
ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS CHAMBER
(1) Prior to the separation Mr R and Ms T were living together in a house owned by Ms T in Peacehaven, on which she had a number of mortgages. The separation occurred in November 2003 when Ms T when to live in a flat in Kingston which her new partner, Mr G.R., was renting. As I understood what was said to me at the hearing, the children initially lived with Ms T, but later returned to live with Mr R, who had remained in the Peacehaven house.
(2) In about February 2004 Ms T was unfairly dismissed from her job.
(3) On 8 April 2004 an initial maintenance calculation of £84.88 per week was made, taking effect from 2 March 2004.
(4) Ms T says that in early November 2004 she gave Mr R written notice to leave the house, and then confirmed this in writing. Mr R says that he and the children were evicted from the house by Ms T in early 2006.
(5) In a letter to the Brighton County Court apparently written in about February 2005 Ms T said that in July 2004 she had formed a company with her new partner and "began to seek freelance work" (p.27) She asserts that she was paid a salary of £6,000 per annum. "With the help of my partner I managed to make ends meet and cover the mortgage."
(6) On 28 April 2005 the initial maintenance calculation was superseded and altered to nil, with effect from 20 April 2004. It appears likely that the reasons for that decision were (a) that initially the children were not living with Mr R and/or (b) that Ms T had no earnings.
(7) Ms T applied for JSA with effect from 20 January 2006. After an appeal to an appeal tribunal, in August 2006 income based JSA was awarded with effect from 18 August 2006 (pp. 54; 57). Ms T says that she had to appeal again in respect of a claim for a backdated payment in respect of the period from 21 January 2006 to 18 August 2006. (see p.84, reason 5). However, Ms T told me that no award for the backdated period had ever been made.
(8) On 9 August 2006 a decision was made to the effect that the child support maintenance liability remained at nil, with effect from 8 August 2006.
(9) On 13 October 2005, at a hearing of matrimonial proceedings in the Brighton County Court, an order was made requiring Ms T to disclose her P60 and last 3 wage slips.
(10) On 16 October 2006 Mr R applied for a variation on the ground of lifestyle inconsistent with declared income. No copy of that application is in the papers, presumably owing to the mislaying of the documents referred to above. Mr G.R. stated to me at the hearing that he had a copy of the application.
(11) There was a note on the CSA computer (pp 12-13), probably dated 2 November 2006, stating:
"Preliminary consideration.
Applicant states the non-applicant's lifestyle is significantly inconsistent with her declared income because she has worked as a freelance web designer for most of 2005 and as being employed she was able to go on long foreign holidays. Paid £2,000 cash for a car and £1500 for car repairs along with due to receive monies from a car accident i.e. compensation payment.
CS Variations Regulations 2000
Reasonableness
I consider it reasonable to send this to contest pending response."
The Secretary of State's submission to the Tribunal said that "the decision maker decided that [Mr R's] application for a variation passed preliminary consideration" and that Ms T's representations were then invited. No copy of any such representations was before the Tribunal.
(12) On 20 November 2006 a decision was made refusing the application for a variation, the reason given in the letter of that date to Mr R (p.10) being that the application failed "as a result of grounds failure."
(13) Ms T's JSA award ceased with effect from 1 December 2006, when she obtained salaried employment. (p.84)
(14) Mr R's appeal form was signed on 7 December 2006. It attached a copy of an e-mail from Ms T to him which spoke about the possibility of the sons going to private school, at a possible cost of £10,000 per annum each.
(15) On 20 February 2007 the existing maintenance calculation of nil was superseded and a new assessment of £91.71 per week with effect from 21 November 2006 was made. On 21 February 2007 that amount was altered, by a further supersession, to £61.16 per week with effect from 6 February 2007 (99).
(16) In a letter dated 16 March 2007, relating to ability to pay potential school fees, Ms T said that she and her new partner had "over £120,000 equity in the house and £50,000 in the flat, and that the sale of the flat was imminent."
(17) By letter dated 23 March 2007 from the CSA (p.15) Mr R was notified that the decision of 20 November 2006 had been reconsidered but not altered. "The reason for this decision is that because [Ms T] was in receipt of a prescribed benefit at the time of the application and because [Ms T] has shared care of your children the liability was nil. Under Regulation 7(2)(b) of the Child Support (Variations) Regulations 2000 an application for a variation made by a parent with care will be refused if at the time of the application the non-resident parent is liable to pay less than the flat rate."
(18) In a letter to the Tribunal received on 4 May 2007 (p.25) Mr R stated that at a hearing in the Brighton County Court in (I think) February 2005 Ms T told the Court she was working "and they needed proof of her earnings which turned out to be £28,000 a year. I had told the CSA about this and the address of her work place, but it seems they have lost this information." Mr R further contended that from 2004 down to the date of the letter (May 2007) "my ex partner has worked more or less continuously." The letter stated that she had also received two lump sum payments one for £10,000 for unfair dismissal from her job in 2004, and one for £10,000 from an insurance payout. Mr R complained that he had had numerous changes of case worker, resulting in a loss of some of the documents. See also Mr R's letter dated 9 August 2007 at p.36H of the papers.
(19) An initial hearing of the Tribunal on 20 August 2007 was adjourned for further evidence to be provided.
(20) The Tribunal hearing was on 6 December 2007, at which both Mr R and Ms T appeared and gave evidence at length. The Tribunal dismissed the appeal.
A. The decision(s) and period under appeal
B. The correctness of the Tribunal's decision in respect of the period from 8 August 2006 onwards.
(1) The position on the footing that the Tribunal could not go behind the JSA awards
(2) Was the variation ground made out?
(3) Should the Tribunal have questioned the correctness of the JSA award?
(4) Should the Tribunal have considered whether the ground of variation in reg. 18 of the Variations Regulations (assets) applied?
My conclusions
(1) It should make a finding as to whether, at some time before 8 August 2006, Mr R in effect applied for a supersession (on the ground of a change of circumstances) of the decision of 28 April 2005 by a request which was not dealt with until 9 August 2006. If it so concludes, it will have jurisdiction back to the date when the supersession application was first made. The thoroughly unsatisfactory position here has come about largely as a result of the loss of documents by the CSA, although it must be said that Mr R has not helped himself by not putting anything in writing to the CSA in 2005 and much of 2006, and by not keeping copies of what he received from the CSA. However, it is possible that further relevant documents may be forthcoming from the Secretary of State (e.g. computer entries), or from Ms T. Mr G.R. informed me at the hearing that they still had, for example, a copy of Mr R's completed October 2006 variation application form.
(2) If the new tribunal concludes that the continued correctness of the nil calculation should have been reconsidered by the Secretary of State with effect from a date earlier than 8 August 2006, it should then reconsider, in respect of that period, (i) the correctness of the calculation under the main formula, and (ii) whether either the lifestyle inconsistent or the assets ground of variation applied.
(3) As regards the period from 8 August 2006 onwards, the new tribunal should hold that a nil calculation is correct, unless any of the evidence which emerges in respect of the earlier period shows that the decision of the Tribunal which sat on 6 December 2007 was wrong for some reason.
Charles Turnbull
Judge of the Upper Tribunal
24 June 2009