Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on how many occasions a decision made by his Department on a person's eligibility for industrial injuries disablement benefits has been found to be incorrect or unsuitable in the last 12 months.

We have determined this query as relating to Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefits (IIDB) disputes, i.e. Mandatory Reconsiderations and Appeals.

Decisions can be overturned at a later stage in the claim journey for a number of reasons - it does not necessarily mean that the original decision was incorrect. The main reasons that decisions are overturned on appeal are: tribunals drawing a different conclusion based on the same evidence, cogent oral evidence given by the individual, or new written evidence provided at the hearing.

From October 2022 to September 2023 inclusive, 1,100 IIDB Mandatory Reconsiderations were completed. In 100 of these the decision was changed.

• This data is derived from unpublished management information which was collected for internal departmental use only, and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standards. It should therefore be treated with caution.
• Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100.
• Figures include Industrial Injuries Disablement Allowance and Reduced Earnings Allowance.
• Definition of Mandatory Reconsideration: Claimants who wish to dispute a decision made on their claim are required to ask the department to reconsider the decision before they can lodge an appeal with His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service. MRs can arise for various reasons, such as omitting to tell the DWP about relevant evidence during the initial decision-making process; this could include not returning forms required as part of the claim.
• Figures are for Great Britain only.

Information on First-tier Tribunal appeals is published at: www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics .

Specifically, information on the number of appeal receipts, disposals and outcomes of IIDB appeals, can be found in the Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) tables: SSCS_1, SSCS_2 and SSCS_3 of the Main Tables.