PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Personal Independence Payment: Alyn and Deeside (16 October 2017)

The volume of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) appeals made to the tribunal has built up since it was introduced as a new benefit in 2013. As the number, and age, of appeals lodged increased so has the average waiting time.

Waiting times generally can fluctuate temporarily and geographically, owing to a number of variable factors, including volumes of benefit decisions made locally, availability of medical/disability members, and venue capacity. Any disparity in waiting times is monitored and investigated locally.

HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has been working with the tribunal’s judiciary to identify initiatives with potential to increase the capacity and performance of the tribunal, including reviewing current listing practices to increase the number of PIP cases being able to be listed on a session. We are also in the process of recruiting over 350 judicial office holders to provide long term capacity in the tribunal.

The average waiting time for PIP appeals in each of the last four years, in the Alyn and Deeside constituency, is set out below.

[1] Average Clearance Time - time taken from appeal receipt to outcome. This includes both those cleared at hearing and those cleared without the need for a tribunal hearing.

2 Personal Independence Payments (New Claim Appeals), which replaced Disability Living Allowance from 8 April 2013, also includes Personal Independence Claims (Reassessments).

3 The table shows information in the financial year April to March.

4 First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support) appeals for Alyn and Deeside constituents are heard in the Chester venue.

5 There were fewer than five PIP appeals disposed of at the Chester venue in 2013/14 and as such the waiting time may not be representative of average waiting time.

Although care is taken when processing and analysing the data, the details are subject to inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale case management system and are the best data available.