advice needed la have lied to tribunal

[billiejeanbob]

I am appealing parts 2&3 of ds statement to sendist. tribunal have issued a hearing date and la have applied to tribual to bring this date forward by two weeks. I had a meeting with LA, EP, senco, CT, HT and was asked to sign to say I was in agreement with the proposed rescheduled date. I did not sign anything and said I would have to check with my legal team.
this morning I have recieved the las application to the tribunal and it states that I am in agreement with the proposed date!! I am fuming as my solicitor cannot make this date I really dont know where to go from here, any advice would be fantastic.

don't panic - you can oppose the application - just because they've made the application doesn't mean the tribunal have agreed it - you have a right to say that its not convienent if your solicitor cannot attend and as you say you did not sign anything - its just the LA thinking they can do what they like.

There's plenty of this sort of fucknuttery on the road to the hearing - it should be straightforward to resolve though. I freaked the first time something like this happened, but you definitely get a chance to make it clear what you have and haven't agreed to.

Contact SENDIST, saying that in fact you haven't agreed to the LA's proposal (in their Request for Changes form of xx.xx.2014), that you cannot agree to it because your legal rep can't attend on that date, that you'll continue to work with the LA to establish a mutually convenient alternative, but otherwise you remain content with the original hearing date supplied by SENDIST.

Sorry for x-post bjk , typing whilst listening to DS2 lecture on Minecraft mod is never a good thing!

ive spent all morning in a panic over this so the tribual will still contact me about the date being bought forward even though the LA have already told them ive agreed?

tbh I should have anticipated this, I feel so naive that I trusted the la to act honestly. it has just cemented my reasons for being unable to negotiate with these fuckwits any further.

don't assume anything - contact the tribunal yourself especially if the LA are saying they have your agreement as its possible if the tribunal see this then they would just rubberstamp it - you or your legal rep need to contact the tribunal service asap to say what ugger said above.

the tribunal people are quite reasonable so when you explain exactly what has happened, I doubt very much the date would be changed. the tribunal could call a telephone hearing where both sides chat to the judge to sort it out but just cos the LA has served this changes on you doesn't mean that it has to happen , you have the right to oppose it

With this of behaviour it dies make you think you not trust them one inch.

Is there no low they wouldn't stoop too I wonder?

Errors and inaccuracies Barefaced Lies are fine, so long as you can prove them. Polite reasonableness (in writing) to LA asking then to fix it, cc SEND, and keep a copy handy.

Best to be aware early. Prepare for it to worsen if you have a good case- keep a log and evidence of any behaviour that hassles you, causes confusion, racks up your witness and legal costs etc. And be uber-perfect yourself; it makes a nice contrast if judge ever has to compare behaviours.

The preferred Parliamentary phrase is 'terminological inexactitude'

You still need to contact SEND direct to highlight the 'inaccuracy' so they know not to reschedule the tribunal.

thankyou for the advice, I will contact the tribunal on monday.
do you think I should email the lea and ask them to correct their 'inaccuracy' by withdrawing the form and then submitting a more accurate eg truthful one?

I'd save your energy - contact the tribunal as others have said, but otherwise I'd let this one go, tbh. You don't need to do any more than this to prove that their submission was inaccurate. Marathon, not a sprint etc etc.

There's a good chance that there'll be plenty more of this sort of bollocks to come. Trying to nail the LA to the wall on their truthfulness about timings is very, very unlikely to have any direct bearing on the ultimate outcome of your hearing. But as Maria says, note it down as an example of terminological exactitude...

But if the LA follow this same pattern of behaviour when it comes to evidence-related issues, that's the time to move to Defcon 2 and press for corrections, retractions etc...

uggers right - this is a long journey and there will be other things like this along the way - contact the tribunal and let them deal with it- you can then keep your air of reasonableness intact

ok great thanks for the advice

Maria :o

Billie - stay strong. Sounds like you have a LA which needs to be pitied for its tendency to be so easily confused. Bless

Word of caution: one thing the tribunal is very firm about is that it will not take into account representatives' convenience when arranging hearings. They reckon you can get substitutes. They really only take into account the availability of the parties and their witnesses.

In which case, billie has never consented to wanting the hearing 2 weeks early, whether her representative can do that day, anyhow, so all is well.