Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of appeals to the tribunal over (a) personal independence payment, (b) employment support allowance and (c) universal credit decisions have been successful in each of the last two years in Leeds.

Information about the outcomes of and waiting times for appeals in the First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support) (SSCS) is published at:

www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics.

Decisions on benefit – typically, on a person’s entitlement to benefit, or its rate of payment - can be overturned on appeal for a variety of reasons. For instance, further evidence, including oral testimony, may be provided at the hearing. HM Courts & Tribunals Service cannot comment on decisions made by the independent tribunal judiciary.

Waiting times are calculated from receipt of an appeal to its final disposal. An appeal is not necessarily disposed of at its first hearing. The final disposal decision on the appeal may be reached after an earlier hearing had been adjourned (which may be directed by the judge for a variety of reasons, such as to seek further evidence), or after an earlier hearing date had been postponed (again, for a variety of reasons, often at the request of the appellant). An appeal may also have been decided at an earlier date by SSCS, only for the case to have gone on to the Upper Tribunal, to be returned once again to the First-tier, for its final disposal.