Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when will HM Courts & Tribunals Service reference number 1753292273313841 (a) be listed and (b) be heard.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
I can confirm the case you have referred to will be listed within August 2026 to be heard in September 2026. A notice of the hearing will be issued on the day of listing which will be approximately three weeks ahead of the hearing date.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when will the probate application 1763-9735-8436-3140, submitted by David Bull on 24 November 2025, in respect of Beryl Patricia Bull, be granted.
Answered by Catherine Atkinson
HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has checked the application referred to. The application cannot currently be granted as further enquiries need to be made before a grant can be issued.
HMCTS apologises for the delay in progressing this application. The applicant is being updated and, once the relevant enquiries have been completed, the application will be processed as quickly as possible.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when will HM Courts & Tribunals Service reference number 175329227331384 (a) be listed and (b) be heard.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We are unable to answer your enquiry because the reference number provided appears to be incorrect.
HMCTS manages a range of different services, and the case reference is used to identify the service as well as the case. Reference numbers for HM Courts and Tribunal digital services should contain 16 digits. Please verify the number and resubmit your enquiry.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the status is of the recruitment exercise which closed in November 2024 for Judges of the First-Tier Tribunal; how many applications were received; and how many appointments have been made (a) in total, (b) to the Social Entitlement Tribunal, (c) to the Health Education and Social Care Tribunal, (d) to the Immigration and Asylum Tribunal and (e) to the War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Tribunal.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The recruitment for salaried judges of the First-tier Tribunal (FtT) closed for applications in November 2024. The recruitment for fee-paid judges of the First-tier Tribunal closed for applications in June 2024. Both exercises included recruitment for judges to be assigned to the Immigration and Asylum Chamber (IAC), Social Entitlement Chamber (SEC), Health, Education and Social Care Chamber (HESC) and War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Chamber (WPAFCC).
Following appointment, assignment to specific First-tier Tribunal Chambers is the responsibility of the Senior President of Tribunals. This process is still underway for both the salaried and fee-paid appointments and so we cannot confirm the final numbers. It is also not yet known how many judges will be assigned to the IAC from both the fee-paid and salaried exercises.
The independent Judicial Appointments Commission publishes updated data quarterly on applications and the number of selections made for appointment once recruitment is completed: Completed exercises 2022-2025 - Judicial Appointments Commission. Information on the number of judges in post, leavers, new appointments and promotions is published annually at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/judicial-diversity-statistics.
To increase IAC capacity, further specific recruitment for up to 70 IAC fee paid judges of the First-tier Tribunal recruitment is underway and recruitment for up to 30 IAC salaried judges of the First-tier Tribunal will commence shortly this calendar year.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 21 July 2025 to Question 68347 on Immigration: Appeals, when the recruitment exercise commenced in 2024 for the First Tier Tribunal will be completed; and how many vacant posts at the Immigration and Asylum Tribunal will (a) be filled and (b) remain unfilled.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The recruitment for salaried judges of the First-tier Tribunal (FtT) closed for applications in November 2024. The recruitment for fee-paid judges of the First-tier Tribunal closed for applications in June 2024. Both exercises included recruitment for judges to be assigned to the Immigration and Asylum Chamber (IAC), Social Entitlement Chamber (SEC), Health, Education and Social Care Chamber (HESC) and War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Chamber (WPAFCC).
Following appointment, assignment to specific First-tier Tribunal Chambers is the responsibility of the Senior President of Tribunals. This process is still underway for both the salaried and fee-paid appointments and so we cannot confirm the final numbers. It is also not yet known how many judges will be assigned to the IAC from both the fee-paid and salaried exercises.
The independent Judicial Appointments Commission publishes updated data quarterly on applications and the number of selections made for appointment once recruitment is completed: Completed exercises 2022-2025 - Judicial Appointments Commission. Information on the number of judges in post, leavers, new appointments and promotions is published annually at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/judicial-diversity-statistics.
To increase IAC capacity, further specific recruitment for up to 70 IAC fee paid judges of the First-tier Tribunal recruitment is underway and recruitment for up to 30 IAC salaried judges of the First-tier Tribunal will commence shortly this calendar year.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many courts hear First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum) appeals; and how many are fully funded to operate throughout the year.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The First-tier Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber (FtTIAC) has 83 tribunal hearing rooms across the United Kingdom and has access to shared court rooms in other jurisdictions. Utilisation of this space is dependent on a number of factors including the volume of ‘in person’ versus ‘remote’ hearings scheduled, budgetary allocations, the requirement for judges to sit at satellite venues and available staffing and judicial resource.
The FtTIAC is currently funded to sit to maximum levels based on available judicial capacity.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many appeals to the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum) were outstanding on 30 September (a) 2025, (b) 2024 and (c) 2023.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The number of open cases in the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) is published in table FIA4 of the Tribunals Statistics quarterly tables and more recently monthly data in table 3 of the HMCTS management information.
Figures covering up to September 2025 are scheduled for publication on 11 December 2025.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for what reason is the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum) at Taylor House Tribunal Hearing Centre on Rosebery Avenue, London, is restricted from using more than 20 of its 27 courts on average during the year; and what would be the additional cost of allowing all of its 27 courts to be used.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The First-tier Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber (FtTIAC) is currently sitting to maximum levels possible based on available judicial capacity.
The FtTIAC has 27 hearing rooms available to list into at the Taylor House Tribunal Hearing Centre. Utilisation of this space is dependent on a number of factors including the volume of ‘in person’ versus ‘remote’ hearings scheduled, budgetary allocations, the requirement for judges to sit at satellite venues and available staffing and judicial resource.
Work is ongoing to increase capacity through recruitment of Judges and support staff. Judicial recruitment exercises which commenced in 2024 for the First-tier Tribunal, including the IAC, are ongoing with appointments due later this year and we are working to grow capacity further across future years. As additional Judges begin to sit we expect to see higher levels of listing across the FtTIAC estate.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make his policy that witnesses giving evidence at hearings of the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum) should do so under oath.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
As an issue of tribunal procedure, giving evidence under oath would be a matter for judicial consideration. Rule 14(3) of the Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) already provides that the tribunal may require evidence to be given under oath.
Additionally, a witness statement, the equivalent of the oral evidence which the witness would, if called, give in evidence must always include a statement by the intended witness in their own language that they believe the facts in it are true.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make it his policy that requests by district judges to transfer up to the High Court for enforcement should always be allowed (a) where the County Court bailiff delay locally is three months or more and (b) where it is possible that reasonable force may have to be used.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Government has noted the findings of the High Court Enforcement Officer Association’s recent report about the process for transferring possession cases to the High Court for enforcement by High Court Enforcement Officers and is considering its recommendations.