John Robert James Rawlings v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (II): [2026] UKUT 389 (AAC)

Upper Tribunal Administrative Appeals Chamber decision of Judge Wikeley on 10 October 2026.

• From: HM Courts & Tribunals Service and Upper Tribunal (Administrative Appeals Chamber)
• Published: 30 October 2026

• Categories: Industrial injuries benefits and Tribunal procedure and practice
• Sub-categories: Industrial injuries benefits - assessment of disablement, Tribunal procedure and practice - fair hearing and Tribunal procedure and practice - statements of reasons
• Judges: Wikeley, N
• Decision date: 10 October 2026

Read the full decision in UA-2025-001811-II.

Judicial Summary

The Upper Tribunal allowed the claimant’s industrial disablement benefit appeal on two grounds. The first ground was because the claimant could not read the DWP medical assessor’s handwritten report. The second ground was because the First-tier Tribunal failed to give adequate reasons for its findings on the assessment of disablement. The Secretary of State’s representative accepted that the FTT’s statement of reasons contained “a high volume of grammatical and proofreading errors, rendering the FtT’s reasons difficult to read, and in some places, unintelligible.”