AA -v- Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (anonymity order)

Administrative Appeals Chamber (Upper Tribunal)Anonymity Order

Case numbers: : UA-2023-001607
001610-USTA

The Upper Tribunal
(Administrative Appeals Chamber)

First-tier Tribunal ref: SC 246/22/00525
Date of decision: 5 October 2022

29 June 2026

Before:

Upper Tribunal Judge Mitchell

Between:

AA
(Appellant)

-v-

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
(Respondent)

Anonymity order

The Upper Tribunal recently adopted a general practice of naming Appellants in social security proceedings. Previously, the Upper Tribunal operated a policy of informal anonymisation in social security cases. If an Appellant’s identity is to be protected from disclosure or publication, an anonymity order is made under rule 14(1) of the UT Rules.

The Upper Tribunal has re-worded its forms so that an Appellant may request an anonymity order when applying for permission to appeal. This Appellant used an older version of the form used to apply for permission to appeal, and was not therefore invited to apply for an anonymity order. I have decided to make an anonymity order on my own initiative because in my view the Appellant has a reasonable expectation of privacy and a derogation from the principle of open justice is justified because the Appellant commenced these proceedings on the understanding that their name would be anonymised in any published appeal decision.

NOTICE: Any breach of this order is liable to be treated as a contempt of court and may be punishable by imprisonment, fine or other sanctions under section 25 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007. The maximum punishment that may be imposed is a sentence of two years’ imprisonment or an unlimited fine.

ORDER

  1. It is ordered, under rule 14 of the UT Rules Procedure that, without the permission of this Tribunal, no one shall, in relation to these proceedings, disclose or publish the name, or any part of the address, of the Appellant or any other information that would be likely to lead to the identification of the Appellant in relation to these proceedings.
  2. It is ordered that the appellant shall be referred to as AA in relation to these proceedings.
  3. Anyone who objects to this order may apply to the Upper Tribunal for it to be varied or set aside.
  4. A copy of this Order shall be published on the website of the Judiciary of England and Wales.

Authorised for issue by
Upper Tribunal Judge Mitchell

29 June 2026