Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will set out the average time (a) taken to process mandatory reconsiderations and (b) between a mandatory reconsideration decision and a tribunal, in each of the last three years for which data are available.

Information on median clearance times for PIP Mandatory Reconsiderations (MRs) is provided in the table below.

Median Clearance Times, in Calendar Days, for PIP MRs, Normal Rules, Great Britain:

This data on PIP MR clearance times is unpublished data. It should be used with caution and it may be subject to future revision.

The Department publishes quarterly statistics on “ESA: outcomes of Work Capability Assessments including mandatory reconsiderations and appeals” which include figures on median MR clearance times, available at Table 16 here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/esa-outcomes-of-work-capability-assessments-including-mandatory-reconsiderations-and-appeals-march-2019

To provide information on MR clearance times across all other DWP administered benefits would incur disproportionate cost.

There are a number of reasons for differences in clearance times between benefits. This includes the PIP clearance times being based on the clearance times from the point of registration to the date the MR was cleared. This is different to the MR clearance times for ESA which are based on the date when the Benefit Centre has decided that the MR received is a valid MR, having considered whether they can initially change the decision in the light of any new information to the date when the decision maker at the Dispute Resolution Team (DRT) has cleared and logged the final decision.

Information on the median time between a PIP MR decision and an Appeal being lodged is provided in the table below.

Median Times, in Calendar Days, between a PIP MR decision and an Appeal being lodged in Great Britain:

This data is unpublished data. It should be used with caution and it may be subject to future revision.

To provide information on the average time between an MR decision being made and appeal being lodged across all other DWP administered benefits would incur disproportionate cost.

The Ministry of Justice publish statistics on the average (mean) age of a case at disposal for different benefit types. These in Tables SSCS.3 of the Main Tables, available here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics#tribunal-statistics-quarterly

These statistics represent the average number of weeks from receipt in Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) to the final outcome within the period. It will include cases cleared at hearing and cases cleared without a hearing which include strike outs, superseded and withdrawals prior to a hearing. An appeal may not necessarily be cleared at its first hearing.