Refer a test case

The small number of test cases we take on each year include judicial review claims and statutory appeals at all levels of the tribunal and court system (First-tier Tribunal, Upper Tribunal, Administrative Court, Court of Appeal, Supreme Court and the European Courts).

Relevant to

England, Wales,

We are interested in hearing from you if your client is affected by a social security issue which you consider affects not just them but also others in a similar situation and so any legal challenge would benefit a significant number of other social security claimants. We are particularly interested in those situations which impact on the amount of benefits that a household with children receive.

We are a small legal team and cannot take on every case referred to us but we will aim to respond to you within 10 working days either to request further information or to explain why we cannot take the matter on.

Cases we can take on

Tribunal appeals

CPAG’s Upper Tribunal Project Assistance Project can take on a limited number of additional appeals in the First-tier or Upper Tribunal, in particular where they have the potential to benefit families with children in poverty.

We can take on a limited number of statutory appeals in the tribunals, where they have the potential to benefit families with children in poverty. We also offer second-tier support with Upper Tribunal appeals, via our Upper Tribunal Project.

Support with an Upper Tribunal case

Public law/judicial review advice and assistance

CPAG has a contract with the Legal Aid Agency to provide legal help and, where appropriate, representation in relation to potential or actual public law/judicial review proceedings. We can do this in particular in cases which have the potential to benefit families with children in poverty.

CPAG's Judicial Review Project may also be able to provide assistance or already have a template letter on the particular issue.

Support with the judicial review process

Interventions

CPAG intervenes in existing cases where we believe our evidence and expertise will assist the Tribunal or Court and further our charitable aims.

Cases we can't take on

Scotland

Regrettably we cannot take referrals of test cases from Scotland. The reason for this is that CPAG’s solicitors are based in London and we cannot apply for legal aid in Scotland or instruct counsel there.

How to refer a test case

Use our referral form to refer a test case to the CPAG legal team. You'll need to have some information ready before you start.

We cannot take on every case referred to us. When we receive a referral, we aim to respond within 10 days to either ask for more information or to explain why we can't take on the case.

Information you'll need

Adviser details:

name
organisation name
email address
phone number (optional)
address and postcode

Client's details:

name
date of birth
immigration status
preferred language
what benefits they are currently receiving
how many children live in their household

Case details:

what type of case it is (for example, appeal in the First Tier Tribunal)
details about the case
dates of any deadlines or hearings coming up, if applicable (optional)
why the case has the potential to be a test case that would benefit families with children living in poverty

Documents:

you will need to upload an authorisation form signed by your client
you will be able to upload other documentation that you think is relevant (optional)

You will not be able to save and return to the form once you have started it.

Refer a test case - referral form

If you think your case is suitable for our test case work, complete our form to refer it.

Fill in the test case referral form

Past and current test cases

Test case updates