Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent steps he has taken to reduce the waiting times for personal independence payments appeals to be heard in the Garston and Halewood constituency.

The Ministry of Justice expects appeal hearings to take place as quickly as possible and is carrying out a series of initiatives to increase capacity which will help reduce waiting times for appellants in Garston and Halewood, whose closest tribunal venue is in Liverpool. Since January 2018, additional panel members have been recruited to hear cases at the Liverpool venue. Four judges, seven medical members and one specialist member have been allocated to Liverpool as their primary venue and a further 13 judges, seven medical members and 4 specialist members have been allocated to Liverpool as their secondary venue. In addition to this, the capacity at the Liverpool venue has recently increased and it is now using five to six hearing rooms on a daily basis.