Social Security Benefits: Appeals

(asked on 11th March 2019) - View Source

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to to reduce the number of claimants' successful claims that go through the tribunal appeal process.


Answered by
Justin Tomlinson Portrait
Justin Tomlinson
This question was answered on 18th March 2019

Our intention is to work with stakeholders to review the mandatory reconsideration process, including exploring what might help us to gather any further evidence earlier in the process so that we can revise decisions before they reach tribunal, where appropriate. It is a complex area and we want to get it right, so our first priority will be to listen so that we can identify what changes might have the greatest impact.

At the tribunals themselves, we know the claimant’s oral evidence is often decisive with new written evidence also having an impact. In order to further understand this, we have recruited 150 Presenting Officers, for ESA and PIP appeals, who, aside from helping tribunals reach the right decision, are feeding back their observations to decision makers and assessment providers. These valuable insights will help inform future decision making.

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