Justice written question – answered at on 7 June 2011.
Anas Sarwar
Labour, Glasgow Central
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average time taken was from submission of an appeal against a failed (a) employment and support allowance and (b) Disability Living Allowance claim to its decision in the latest period for which figures are available.
Jonathan Djanogly
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice
The following table shows the average time taken from submission of an appeal to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) until a decision is issued by Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) for employment and support allowance and Disability Living Allowance appeals.
The information covers
| Average waiting times for employment support allowance and disability living allowance appeals, 2010-11 | ||
| Average time in weeks from: | ||
| Submission to DWP to receipt at HMCTS (1) | Receipt at HMCTS to issue of decision | |
| Employment support allowance | 7.99 | 19.38 |
| Disability living allowance | 7.37 | 24.43 |
| (1) The data regarding the time from when an appeal is submitted to the DWP until it is received by HMCTS is taken from HMCTS database and relies on the date of submission provided by DWP. | ||
The Tribunals Service’s target in 2010-11 was to issue a final decision for 75% of social security and child support (SSCS) appeals within 16 weeks of receipt from the DWP. Performance below target has resulted from an unexpectedly high level of appeals. In response, the Tribunals Service (and now HMCTS) has significantly increased its capacity and, nationally, 36% more SSCS appeals were cleared in 2010-11 compared to 2009-10. Further capacity increases are in hand.
Yes2 people think so
No1 person thinks not
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Allowance for those who need help looking after themselves. Not means tested.
Factsheet from RNID here: http://www.rnid.org.uk/html/factsheets/benefits_disability_allowance_and_deaf_people.htm
Official page from Department for Work and Pensions here: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/lifeevent/benefits/disability_liv_allowance.asp
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
