Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average waiting time is for the Independent Case Examiner to review accepted cases; and if he will make a statement.

During the 2015/16 financial year complaints examined by the Independent Case Examiner’s (ICE) Office took an average of 37 weeks to process from the point at which they were accepted.

Improvements in complaint handling within DWP mean that the ICE Office receive far fewer cases which can be resolved, to the complainant’s satisfaction, without a full investigation of the evidence. This means that the ICE process is reserved for more complex cases which are, by nature, more time consuming.