JCD v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

Facts

The Appellant, anonymised as JCD under a rule 14 order, claimed Personal Independence Payment. The Secretary of State's decision-maker disallowed the claim on 30 January 2024, scoring the Appellant at nil points for both the daily living and the mobility activities. The Appellant appealed to the First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support), where a panel comprising Judge J E Tolman, Dr J Murad and Miss I J McCann heard the appeal at London Fox Court on 14 July 2025 and dismissed it, confirming the disallowance on the same basis. The Appellant sought permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal on the ground that the First-tier Tribunal had given inadequate reasons. A District Tribunal Judge granted permission, observing that it was arguable that the statement of reasons did not adequately explain how the tribunal had applied the PIP descriptors, its findings appearing limited to general conclusions on functional ability without showing how those findings were applied to the individual activities. The Secretary of State's representative, Ms Hennessy, supported the appeal, submitting that the tribunal had erred both in its fact-finding and in its duty to give adequate reasons. The Appellant had since made a fresh claim for PIP on 26 September 2025.