Founded in 2013, Fightback4Justice is an award winning, non-profit organisation, providing specialised, expert advice and help on various welfare benefit claims; from advocacy and representation at court to guidance with forms for PIP, ESA, DLA & UC. Although based in Bury we offer comprehensive nationwide support, both face to face and through our email and phone advice line.

In the last few years our success has been so astronomical (we have a 90.9% success rate across all cases) our small but dedicated team are consistently inundated with hundreds of emails and calls to wade through; and as we rely entirely on donations, we have been stretched extremely thin. With this in mind, we launched our Fightback4Justice VIP Platform with the aim of helping as many people as we can.

Our aim with the VIP Platform is to provide you with all the tools you need to process a claim to the highest possible standard. Our resources and services will be available to you every step of the way from the Application Stage to the Upper Tier tribunal. Once you are VIP Member, you’ll have access to our extensive range of Information Factsheets, Completed Example Forms, Template Letters, Document Review Service and Assessment Preparation Service. 

On top of this vast library of information and services, our VIP members have access to the VIP Email and Phone service where we guarantee a priority response, allowing you to talk direct to people in the know and get the help you need. To become a VIP Member, please click Join Now. 

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As a trusted and established name, Fightback has always been a go to source of information for many media outlets on topics such as Welfare Benefits. On many occasions, we have provided assistance to local and national news outlets such a ITV and the BBC.

Towards the end of last year, we were delighted to take part in a report for ITV which aimed to highlight the flaws in our current benefit system. The ITV film crew spent the morning in our offices where they interviewed a number of our past clients and team members. Here is the official video from our recent coverage on ITV Granada Reports. Once again we would like to say a massive thanks to Matt and the Granada Reports team for once again contacting us for assistance when creating their reports on the errors in the welfare benefits system.

UPDATE JULY 2020 – Jenny, The lady featured at the start of this feature came to sign up for our services on that day. This month we successfully advocated in her appeal and we are pleased to report her daughter has won enhanced mobility and standard daily living with our support. We are still to hear about the other gentleman featured in the video.

Fightback Featured In The Mail Online

When speaking to Kaite, Michelle commented that ‘This is a budget for the those who are non-disabled or not caring for someone. It is again ignoring people on disability benefits who are unable to work full time. The government don’t care about disabled people and we see this daily in our work at Fightback4justice. One lady told us she felt like a non-person, someone who is glazed over and forgotten about. It’s dehumanising and shameful.’

ITV At Fightback HQ

Fightback on ITV

Towards the end of last year, we were delighted to take part in a report for ITV which aimed to highlight the floors in our current benefit system. The ITV film crew spent the morning in our offices where they interviewed a number of our past clients and team members. Scroll down to view the official video from our recent coverage on ITV Granada Reports.

Once again we would like to say a massive thanks to Matt and the Granada Reports team for once again contacting us for assistance when creating their reports on the errors in the welfare benefits system.

Fightback In The Bury Times

This week we have been contacted by Joe Harrigan for a comment in his report on benefits and terminally ill claimants. Michelle commented that ‘It just shows the system is not working, there’s no checks and balances at all, they assessors do not know who has appealed so someone could be writing damningly wrong assessments over and over again and they wouldn’t know’ You can read the full report HERE. 

Our Local Mayor Reopens Our Drop In Sessions

Year on Year Stats

Every new year we work out of official legal figures which are available for scrutiny, see photos.
Sharing our official figures for 2017-2020 for our advocacy appeals to the Lower Tier Tribunal.

2019 – 90.9% success rate overall in all appeals last year 31.6% were overturned AHEAD of a hearing. this is from 386 appeal hearings mostly via telephone.
2019 pre Covid, we attended or representing via distance in 436 Appeals and won 89.9% of these.
2018 it is 298 appeals with 89.5% overall success rate.
2017 was 200 appeal hearing at 80.5% overall success rate.
2013-15 we attended around 200 a year and did not keep official figures but most were overturned.

So when you see we have 90.9% this is from literally over 1000 appeal hearings we have advocated in as a legal team over the years, not just a couple.
We have long standing legally qualified advocates in welfare benefit law, and interact with the tribunals on a daily basis.
Upper Tier work, today we had word that we had again made legal history by having yet another lower tier decision overturned in the Upper Tier tribunal, our 30th to date.

Working Tax Credits One Off £500 Payment

Important News From The DWP Regarding Face to Face Assessments

People will be invited for their appointments by letter, which will clearly set out what to expect at their appointment.

Face-to-face assessments will take place alongside existing paper-based assessments, and telephone assessments (for WCAs and PIP), which will continue to take place where suitable.

Normal Jobcentre Opening Hours Resume From 12th April

From 12 April, jobcentres in England, Scotland and Wales will return to their pre-lockdown opening hours.

While jobcentres have remained open and fully operational throughout the pandemic for those who really need it, and Work Coaches have continued to support all their customers virtually – opening hours were temporarily shortened to 10am to 2pm at the start of this national lockdown in line with the toughened restrictions.

This is usually an indication that other services such as work focused interviews may be restarted face to face. We will post more as we hear it.

Our 2020 Statistics

At the end of each year, Amanda collates our official figures for the claimants we have represented in court as full legal advocates. These figures are made up of cases which we have taken on for PIP, ESA and DLA and UC.

2020 was an extremely challenging year for Fightback. The disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic meant that from April, all appeal hearings took place via phone hearing. This meant that with short notice, we had to create a dedicated space for telephone appeals. We also had to contend with the constant changes in local restrictions and laws and last minute notice of these appeals of as little as 3 days. This would often leave us short staffed at numerous times due to quarantine periods and child care needs, but our legal advocates managed to attend all of the ones we were requested presence on.

With this in mind, we are delighted that we have managed to increase our win percentage rate to over 90% on average. We are extremely proud of this record and will strive to increase it once again in 2021.

2020 Figures
Total of all Appeals – 386
Overturned early – 122 – 31.6%
Overall Success Rate – 90.9%

Previous Years:
2019
Total of all Appeals – 436
Overturned early – 74 – 17 %
Overall Success Rate – 89.9%

2018 – 298 Appeals at 87% success rate
2017 – 200 Appeals 89.5% success rate

It’s with the help and support of all of our followers and members that we are able to achieve such fantastic numbers on behalf of our clients. We would not be here, and would not be able to do what we do without you. While we know 2021 will be a challenging year, we are looking forward to helping as many people as we can and striving for fairness and justice in the benefits system.

Thanks for your support in 2020

We would like to take a moment to thank each and every Fightback follower for their continued support during the past year. It has undoubtedly been an extraordinary 2020 in every sense of the word. Like many charities and organisations across the UK, we were severely impacted by the Covid – 19 pandemic but we are please to say that, whilst we’re not out of the woods yet by any means, we were able to adapt, improvise and overcome obstacles to ensure we could deliver help and assistance to people who rely on us.

Despite the challenges we have faced, we’re delighted that we have been able to assist hundreds claimants over the past year. We are currently calculating our success rate for 2020 but early indications suggest that we achieved over 90%. We’re extremely proud of this figure which is even greater considering we were short staffed at several points over the year due to COVID-19 government guidelines and laws.

Our services have included free advice, assessment preparation, form filling, video court hearings and our VIP Platform services to mention a few.

Towards the second half of the year, we were able to create the Fightback4Justice Hometeam thanks to a local grant. This allowed us to visit and aid people in the community who were not able to leave their homes due to shielding. The role of the Hometeam has been crucial to so many people who had been suffering from a wide range of conditions such as depression, anxiety and a feeling of isolation brought on by the pandemic.

We’re very much looking forward to a brighter 2021 and we can not wait until we can bring back our face to face services such as office appointments, FB4J Roadshows and our monthly drop ins.

Thanks once again for your support.
Fightback

Welcome our new team member, Sonya

We’re delighted to welcome a brand new member to our team this week so please give a warm welcome to Sonya. Sonya joined Fightback in 2020 and brings with her a wealth of experience in health care and science. She studied Medicine and Surgery at The University of Liverpool, with further specialised study in women’s health at The University of Manchester. Sonya has held clinical roles within the NHS and private sector throughout the North West of England. Her experience incorporates many medical specialities, along with dentistry and laboratory scientific analysis.
Whilst recuperating from a debilitating accident, Sonya completed further study at The Open University. This included English law and legal research. She graduated with First Class Honours.
Sonya works part time in the legal department at Fightback. She is ideally suited to the intricate analysis and evaluation of medical evidence that is involved in a great deal of our work. Her role as a legal advocate involves drafting legal documentation for the court, liasing with clients and representing them in court.

For the other half of the week, Sonya continues her postgraduate legal education. She is currently studying an LLM at Liverpool John Moores University before she begins her vocational barrister training. Sonya is delighted to have found a role that incorporates all aspects of her academic study and experience. Ske looks forward to a long and fulfilling career here at Fightback.

Failure to attend an ESA assessment new guidance:

PIP & UC Update

Pip and UC important caselaw for terminal illness 2020] NIQB (N Ireland) as a Judicial Review case it is most likely to impact rules on if terminal illness awards ie proof you will be dead in 6 months. This has now been said to contravene art 8 human rights act – right to family live and peaceful enjoyment of your home/belongings (includes money)  meaning in your dying days.
It won’t change rules yet as still ongoing but likely to in coming year.

High Court holds that special rules for terminal illness, in case where claimant cannot demonstrate their death can be reasonably expected within six months, are ‘discriminatory and ‘manifestly without reasonable foundation’

Upon careful scrutiny of all the evidence, I can find no evidence, justification or rationale to explain why the applicant was not deemed to be entitled to the enhanced rate of PIP for activities of daily living and the standard rate of mobility from the date when her terminal diagnosis was confirmed. This difference in treatment is manifestly without reasonable justification and is, therefore, in breach of Article 14 ECHR in conjunction with Article 8 and Article 1 of Protocol 1.’ (paragraph 104)

‘Again, upon careful scrutiny of all the evidence, I can find no evidence, justification or rationale to explain why the applicant was not deemed to be entitled to the LCWRA component of universal credit from the date on which she made her claim for universal credit. This difference in treatment is manifestly without reasonable justification and is, therefore, in breach of Article 14 ECHR in conjunction with Article 8 and Article 1 of Protocol 1.’ (paragraph 106)

Fightback Appeal Stats – 2019

At the end of each year, we take a moment to tot up our results of the course of the year so that we can provide an accurate figure on cases which we have taken on and have achieved a successful results on. 

This year has been the busiest yet for fightback and we are over the moon with what we have managed to achieve. Our figures on overturned appeals for the past three years can bee seen below as a percentage. Don’t forget that we did over 880 appeals last year. Keep this in mind when you read over our percentage win rate.

2017 – 89.50% Success Rate

2018 – 87% Success Rate

2019 – 89.90% Success Rate

It’s with the help and support of all of our followers and members that we are able to achieve such fantastic numbers on behalf of our clients. We’re excited to keep this successful streak going in 2020 and for many more years ahead! 

Through Disability Confident, DWP are working with employers to ensure that disabled people and those with long term health conditions have the opportunities to fulfil their potential and realise their aspirations. We have been assessed and meet the criteria for a disability confident employers/voluntary organisation.