Deborah Worrall v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

Facts

Mrs Deborah Worrall claimed Personal Independence Payment (PIP). On 11 January 2022 a DWP decision-maker refused the claim, scoring her nil points on both the daily living and mobility components. On 9 June 2023 a First-tier Tribunal allowed her appeal in part. It awarded the standard rate of the daily living component on 8 points, but made no award of the mobility component, where she scored only 4 points. Upper Tribunal Judge Wikeley set that decision aside on 28 June 2024 and remitted the case for rehearing. A fresh First-tier Tribunal sitting at Hull then dismissed her appeal on 13 March 2025. It confirmed the Secretary of State's original decision that she did not qualify for PIP from 31 August 2021. That tribunal found the evidence of the appellant and her husband unreliable in various important respects. It also noted that she was her husband's carer and received benefits for doing so, and it relied on that caring role when it declined to award points. The appellant appealed again to the Upper Tribunal on three grounds: that the tribunal had failed to make sufficient findings of fact, had failed to give adequate reasons for discounting a specialist registrar's letter, and had breached natural justice by failing to consider an adjournment. Judge Wikeley granted permission, and the Secretary of State's representative supported the appeal. The appeal was decided on the papers.