Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much funding the Department for Work and Pensions allocated to Her Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service in (a) 2018-19 and (b) 2019-20; and what proportion of the cost of the First Tier Tribunal (Social Security & Child Support) that funding represented in each of those years.

Responsibility for the funding of the operation of the First Tier Tribunal (Social Security & Child Support) transferred, with funding from the Department for Work and Pensions to the Ministry of Justice on the creation of the Tribunals Service on 1 April 2006.

The contribution that the Department for Work and Pensions currently makes towards the costs of the First Tier Tribunal (Social Security & Child Support), covers the additional costs of that tribunal because of the introduction of the Personal Independence Payment benefit. This has led to an increase both in the number of appeals to the tribunal and, due to the increased complexity of the tests involved, their length and cost.

¹ Total cost of the First Tier Tribunal (Social Security & Child Support) includes both direct and indirect costs. Total cost information by jurisdiction for 2019-20 will not be available until the financial accounts have been audited.