Luton Borough Council v CM (HB): [2025] UKUT 337 (AAC)
Upper Tribunal Administrative Appeals Chamber decision by Judge Wikeley on 8 October 2025.
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Judicial Summary
The claimant was overpaid housing benefit because the local authority failed to process the claimant’s reported change of circumstances. The First-tier Tribunal allowed the claimant’s appeal against the local authority’s decision that the overpayment was recoverable, finding that the overpayment was caused by official error. The local authority applied for permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal, but its application was six days late. The Upper Tribunal refused to extend time as it was not fair and just to do so, in part because the local authority had taken over five years to forward the claimant’s appeal to the First-tier Tribunal. Accordingly, the local authority’s application for permission to appeal was not admitted.