Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the waiting times for personal independence payment tribunals in (a) the North West, (b) Wirral and (c) Wallasey.

The most recent venue data is not currently available.

The latest period for which data about First-tier Tribunal Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) are available is January to March 2021. However, due to issues identified as the Tribunal was being migrated to a new operational system, SSCS data at venue level requires further quality assurance.

Throughout the pandemic, SSCS appeals have continued to be decided on the papers or heard using telephone and other remote technology. Additionally, HMCTS has introduced safety measures so that face to face hearings can be held for any cases which cannot be decided on the papers or heard remotely.

Information about appeals to tribunals is published quarterly on gov.uk at: www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics