Definitely put in an appeal of the decision for illness benefit exemption. Does the appeal go to the Appeals Office or is it an internal review that is undertaken by an officer in the IB section that is higher than the deciding officer – there’d be a fundamental differences in independence? Was there any reason why you didn’t apply for Back to Education Allowance? I would also approach citizen’s information to explore other options and benefit implications if you were to continue to participate in education were your appeal was unsuccessful.
You have the right pursuant to Section 7 of the FOI Act 1997 and FOI Act 2003 to access all records in hard or electronic format on the processing of your application and the decision to refuse the IB exemption. Also look for all other records that may exist. These records will allow you to see where the department is coming from and how they made their decision.
I don’t know what type of course you were doing. Who were the providers of the course? Was it in a recognised institution? Was it specifically rehabilitative, vocational in nature, or general in education? You could approach FAS and ask them what type of courses they provide and what they would recommend that would be of “therapeutic value” to you…. See what they come up with and then you could use it as part of your appeal.
I would ask the Department what meaning and what expected outcomes do they apply to establish whether a course is of therapeutic value or not. Is the therapeutic value of a course considered in terms of treatment and that which is purely curative? Is it rehabilitative including vocational rehabilitative? Is therapeutic value employment and labour market participation related? Or in addition to all of the above is therapeutic value also about the social interaction element and the benefits in physical, social and mental well-being.
How did the DSFA establish that this course is not of therapeutic value to you – is this decision grounded in fact – did they interview or examine you – did they assess your physical or mental well-being resulting from participation – or did they ask for any reports from your GP or consultants? Use all this information in the appeal.