Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the financial and emotional impact of current waiting times for mandatory reconsideration on individuals; and what his Department is doing to ensure that mandatory reconsiderations are carried out in a timely manner.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Mandatory Reconsideration (MR) offers claimants the opportunity to challenge decisions and provide additional information which may be relevant to their claim.
Entitlement is usually from the date of claim, so if a decision is changed at MR, the amount awarded will be the same as if it were awarded at the initial decision stage. Arrears are paid as a lump sum.
We are allocating more decision makers to MRs to ensure decisions are made in as timely manner as possible.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of mandatory reconsiderations on the (a) finances and (b) emotions of affected people; and how the Department is ensuring those reconsiderations are completed in a timely manner.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Mandatory Reconsideration (MR) offers claimants the opportunity to challenge decisions and provide additional information which may be relevant to their claim.
Entitlement is usually from the date of claim, so if a decision is changed at MR, the amount awarded will be the same as if it were awarded at the initial decision stage. Arrears are paid as a lump sum.
We are allocating more decision makers to MRs to ensure decisions are made in as timely manner as possible.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many successful mandatory reconsiderations there have been since 2020, broken down by (a) year, (b) value, and (c) benefit type.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Information for Personal Independence Payment and Employment and Support Allowance can be found on Stat Xplore.
Successful Personal Independence Payment (PIP) mandatory reconsiderations (MRs) can be found on the ‘PIP MR Clearances’ dataset. Use the ‘Geography’ and ‘National – Regional – LA – OAs’ filter to select ‘DWP policy ownership’. The ‘MR Decision’ filter can be used to select ‘New Decision – Award Changed’ and the ‘Month’ filter can be used to select the years you are interested in.
For Employment Support Allowance Work Capability Assessment (ESA WCA) successful MRs, use the ‘Mandatory Reconsiderations – Clearances’ dataset. Use the ‘Geography’ and ‘National – Regional – LA – Ward’ filter to select ‘Great Britain’ and then ‘England’ and ‘Wales’. The ‘Decision’ filter can be used to select ‘Revised – allowed’ and the ‘Date of Decision’ filter can be used to select the time period needed.
You can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest user and, if needed, you can access guidance on how to extract the information required.
Universal Credit (UC) MRs can be found in Table 1 below.
Table 1: volume of successful UC MRs by financial year
| 2019_20 | 2020_21 | 2021_22 | 2022_23 | 2023_24 | 2024_25 |
Volume of successful MRs | 50,000 | 47,000 | 61,000 | 100,000 | 107,000 | 110,000 |
Notes:
Information on other benefit MRs as well as their value is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what measures are in place to ensure that claimants can effectively challenge Universal Credit Reviews.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Universal Credit Claim Reviews (UCR) primary purpose is to identify any incorrectness in a Universal Credit (UC) claim and correct retrospectively. This includes both over and under payments and helps ensure the claimant is paid the right entitlement, that they keep their claim up to date and avoid falling into or accumulating further debt.
The claimant can contact their review agent via their online journal if they have any questions or concerns regarding and during the review.
If the claimant is unhappy with the service they have received during their review, they can make a formal complaint by following the DWP’s complaint process available on GOV.UK: Make a complaint about JSA or UC - DWP
Where the outcome of the review has led to a change in entitlement, a claimant can request a Mandatory Reconsideration (MR) to look at the decision again if they:
Following the MR, the claimant can appeal the decision regarding their entitlement to benefits to HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS). Appeals are decided by the Social Security and Child Support Tribunal (SSCS). The tribunal is impartial and independent of government.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department plans to take steps to reduce the waiting time for appeal hearings in the First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support).
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We are working to reduce the outstanding caseload across the Social Entitlement Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal, which includes the Social Security and Child Support jurisdiction. This is key to reducing the waiting time for tribunal hearings.
HMCTS continues to invest in improving tribunal productivity through the recruitment of additional Judges, the deployment of Legal Officers to actively manage cases, the development of modern case management systems and the use of remote hearing technology.
Data on Tribunals performance is published by the Ministry of Justice on a quarterly basis. Receipts, disposals and the outstanding caseload for individual Chambers in the First-tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal, the Employment Tribunal and the Employment Appeal Tribunal can be found at the link below: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 8 January 2025 to Question 21325 on Social Security Benefits: Appeals, whether her Department has been able to recover the backlog of mandatory reconsideration cases.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The PIP Mandatory Reconsideration (MR) backlog was on track to be cleared in March 2025. However, intakes have been higher than anticipated, which meant the backlog was not cleared as predicted. We are increasing resources available for PIP MRs by recruiting decision makers.
In April 2025, the median MR clearance time was 61 and 59 calendar days for new claims and DLA reassessments respectively, a reduction of 10 and 12 days respectively in relation to the last quarter.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of appeal Tribunals in relation to (a) PIP, (b) DLA and (c) ESA has the Department not contested in the last 12 months.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP does not contest appeals. Claimants have a legal right to dispute decisions made by the Secretary of State in relation to aspects of their Social Security entitlement. They do so by lodging appeals against those decisions with His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS), in most cases following a Mandatory Reconsideration.
There are no cases in the First-tier Tribunal where DWP would bring an appeal against a claimant. DWP acts as a respondent to the appeal, and will provide a written response in all cases clarifying the current decision and the legal and evidential basis on which it was made. HMCTS considers the available evidence, including evidence provided in the hearing by the appellant, and will determine whether to overturn or uphold the decision.
If the decision of the First-tier Tribunal contains a potential error in law, either party to the appeal may seek leave to challenge the tribunal’s decision. The decision may be set aside by a District Judge of the First-tier Tribunal, or go on to be considered by the Upper Tribunal.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average time is for her Department to respond to Mandatory Reconsideration requests.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The median mandatory reconsideration (MR) clearance times have been provided for Universal Credit (UC), Personal Independence Payment (PIP), and Employment Support Allowance (ESA) Work Capability Assessment (WCA) benefit decisions. To provide information across all other DWP administered benefits would incur disproportionate cost.
Median clearance times have been provided as the mean can be unduly affected by outlying cases.
Universal Credit
The median clearance time for UC MRs cleared in the 2024/25 financial year was 33 calendar days.
Notes:
Personal Independence Payment
PIP MR clearance times are published at Personal Independence Payment statistics - GOV.UK. They can be found by accessing the latest release and opening the excel tables. Tables 4A – 4Biii contain information on PIP MR clearance times.
Employment Support Allowance
ESA WCA MR clearance times are available on Stat-Xplore: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/. They can be found by going through “ESA Work Capability Assessments”, “Mandatory Reconsideration – Clearances” “Table 4 – Median Clearance Times by Date of Decision”.
Asked by: Lord Kempsell (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government to what percentage of Social Security and Child Support Tribunal hearings the Department for Work and Pensions sent a presenting officer in (1) 2020–21, (2) 2021–22, (3) 2022–23, and (4) 2023–24.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The percentage of hearings for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) which were attended by a Presenting Officer (PO) can be found in Table 1 below.
Table 1: Proportion of tribunal hearings for selected Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) benefits which were attended by a DWP Presenting Officer
Benefit | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/24 |
PIP | 6% | 30% | 26% | 30% |
ESA | 7% | 31% | 21% | 23% |
Source: HMCTS administrative data shared with DWP
Notes:
Figures could not be provided for SSCS benefits other than PIP and ESA because the administrative data held by the department is not robust enough to answer the question.
Asked by: Lord Kempsell (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of Social Security and Child Support Tribunal hearings were overturned in favour of the claimant in (1) 2020–21, (2) 2021–22, (3) 2022–23, and (4) 2023–24, broken down by (a) venue, (b) regional office, and (c) UK nation.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede
Decisions on benefits - typically, on a person’s entitlement to benefit, or its rate of payment - can be overturned on appeal for a variety of reasons. For instance, further evidence, including oral testimony, may be provided at the hearing. HM Courts & Tribunals Service cannot comment on decisions made by independent tribunal judiciary.
Information about overturn rates for appeals to the First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support) is published on gov.uk. The most recent statistics, for the period October to December 2024, was published on 13 March 2025 and is copied below.
Social Security and Child Support - Percentage of hearings overturned in favour(4) of claimant by financial year and venue, 2020/21 to 2023/24(1,2,3,5) | |||||
Venue | Region(6) | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/24 |
Aberdeen | Scotland | 57% | 48% | 55% | 56% |
Aberystwyth | Wales | 86% | 60% | 70% | 74% |
Aldershot | South West | 81% | 64% | 72% | 56% |
Ashford | South East | 74% | 57% | 65% | 62% |
Ayr | Scotland | 60% | 58% | 57% | 66% |
Barnsley | North East | 57% | 46% | 56% | 54% |
Barnstaple | South West | 88% | 67% | 63% | 50% |
Barrow | North West | 76% | 67% | 68% | 65% |
Basildon | South East | 74% | 63% | 67% | 63% |
Bedford | South East | 72% | 62% | 65% | 57% |
Bedlington | North East | 53% | 43% | 50% | 45% |
Benbecula | Scotland | 40% | 100% | 30% | 100% |
Berwick | North East | .. | 0% | 20% | 33% |
Bexleyheath | London | 78% | 63% | 65% | 71% |
Birkenhead | North West | 71% | 65% | 62% | 63% |
Birmingham | Midlands | 72% | 59% | 54% | 54% |
Blackburn | North West | 69% | 60% | 59% | 66% |
Blackpool | North West | 71% | 45% | 56% | 68% |
Bolton | North West | 66% | 54% | 57% | 65% |
Boston | Midlands | 74% | 71% | 60% | 63% |
Bournemouth | South West | 86% | 74% | 78% | 67% |
Bradford | North East | 59% | 52% | 54% | 48% |
Brighton | South East | 69% | 56% | 65% | 64% |
Bristol | South West | 84% | 71% | 73% | 66% |
Bromley | London | 83% | .. | .. | .. |
Burnley | North West | 61% | 56% | 62% | 61% |
Caernarfon | Wales | 77% | 63% | 64% | 68% |
Cambridge | South East | 66% | 52% | 58% | 60% |
Campbeltown Centre | Scotland | 67% | 75% | 65% | 56% |
Cardiff | Wales | 81% | 70% | 71% | 62% |
Carlisle | North West | 71% | 56% | 66% | 70% |
Carmarthen | Wales | 88% | 53% | 75% | 72% |
Chatham | South East | 75% | 65% | 58% | 62% |
Chelmsford | South East | 68% | 46% | 60% | 62% |
Chester | North West | 71% | 59% | 58% | 66% |
Chesterfield | Midlands | 75% | 71% | 67% | 70% |
Colchester | South East | 80% | 100% | 0% | .. |
Coventry | Midlands | 77% | 65% | 64% | 69% |
Darlington | North East | 59% | 54% | 50% | 45% |
Derby | Midlands | 75% | 67% | 62% | 63% |
Doncaster | North East | 58% | 54% | 57% | 47% |
Dumfries (Cairndale) | Scotland | 61% | 56% | 65% | 63% |
Dundee | Scotland | 58% | 59% | 54% | 57% |
Dunfermline | Scotland | 54% | 61% | 58% | 67% |
Durham | North East | 72% | 59% | 45% | 42% |
Eagle Building | Scotland | 49% | 45% | 100% | .. |
East London | London | 69% | 63% | 68% | 71% |
Eastbourne | South East | 79% | 64% | 60% | 27% |
Edinburgh | Scotland | 64% | 56% | 56% | 62% |
Enfield | London | 72% | 69% | 76% | 74% |
Exeter | South West | 82% | 66% | 73% | 72% |
Fox Court | London | 72% | 66% | 70% | 76% |
Galashiels | Scotland | 59% | 61% | 58% | 56% |
Gateshead | North East | 57% | 53% | 39% | 35% |
Glasgow | Scotland | 62% | 57% | 57% | 62% |
Gloucester | South West | 80% | 67% | 69% | 67% |
Greenock | Scotland | 66% | 61% | 52% | 63% |
Grimsby | North East | 63% | 48% | 60% | 49% |
Hamilton | Scotland | 52% | 57% | 58% | 56% |
Hastings | South East | 72% | 57% | 59% | 62% |
Hatton Cross | London | 75% | 63% | 68% | 72% |
Havant | South West | 76% | 63% | 60% | 58% |
Haverfordwest | Wales | 85% | 57% | 71% | 85% |
Hereford | Midlands | 78% | 57% | 59% | 52% |
High Wycombe | South East | 70% | 61% | 60% | 60% |
Holborn | London | 64% | .. | .. | .. |
Huddersfield | North East | 78% | 100% | 67% | 85% |
Hull | North East | 57% | 54% | 57% | 55% |
Inverness | Scotland | 61% | 56% | 56% | 59% |
Ipswich | South East | 66% | 54% | 60% | 65% |
Kidderminster | Midlands | 77% | 67% | 57% | 68% |
Kilmarnock | Scotland | 55% | 53% | 63% | 53% |
Kings Lynn | South East | 66% | 50% | 48% | 63% |
Kirkcaldy | Scotland | 56% | 56% | 47% | 58% |
Kirkwall | Scotland | 57% | 63% | 65% | 54% |
Lancaster | North West | 71% | 64% | 61% | 66% |
Langstone, Newport | Wales | 70% | 71% | 69% | 67% |
Leeds | North East | 67% | 59% | 59% | 60% |
Leicester | Midlands | 73% | 65% | 66% | 64% |
Lerwick | Scotland | 70% | 45% | 60% | 50% |
Lewis | Scotland | 50% | 64% | 60% | 70% |
Lincoln | Midlands | 78% | 67% | 61% | 61% |
Liverpool | North West | 69% | 65% | 66% | 67% |
Llandrindod Wells | Wales | 47% | 20% | 75% | 100% |
Llandudno | Wales | 68% | .. | .. | 100% |
Llanelli | Wales | 77% | 57% | 68% | 81% |
Luton | South East | 71% | 56% | 66% | 63% |
Maidenhead | South East | 100% | .. | .. | .. |
Manchester | North West | 68% | 61% | 61% | 66% |
Margate | South East | 73% | 58% | 65% | 61% |
Middlesbrough | North East | 33% | .. | .. | .. |
Milton Keynes | South East | 78% | 73% | 73% | 58% |
Newcastle | North East | 54% | 46% | 42% | 36% |
Newport IOW | South West | 80% | 67% | 83% | 71% |
Newton Abbot | South West | 71% | 71% | 68% | 74% |
North Shields | North East | 64% | 57% | 50% | 40% |
Northampton | Midlands | 73% | 68% | 63% | 69% |
Norwich | South East | 61% | 53% | 63% | 59% |
Nottingham | Midlands | 75% | 66% | 64% | 64% |
Nuneaton | Midlands | 82% | 79% | 64% | 64% |
Oban | Scotland | 40% | 69% | 85% | 44% |
Oxford | South East | 64% | 58% | 60% | 60% |
Peterborough | South East | 71% | 58% | 66% | 65% |
Plymouth | South West | 77% | 70% | 72% | 66% |
Pontypridd | Wales | 100% | .. | .. | .. |
Poole | South West | 66% | 69% | 70% | 65% |
Port Talbot | Wales | 73% | 66% | 69% | 75% |
Portsmouth | South West | 100% | .. | 75% | .. |
Prestatyn | Wales | 73% | 74% | 74% | 71% |
Preston | North West | 75% | 61% | 59% | 61% |
Reading | South East | 75% | 57% | 59% | 66% |
Rochdale | North West | 66% | 63% | 64% | 65% |
Romford | London | 76% | 67% | 68% | 70% |
Salisbury | South West | 80% | 67% | 80% | 66% |
Scarborough | North East | 65% | 57% | 66% | 53% |
Sheffield | North East | 67% | 55% | 57% | 56% |
Shrewsbury | Midlands | 75% | 68% | 50% | 48% |
South Shields | North East | 65% | 50% | 46% | 47% |
Southampton | South West | 74% | 70% | 71% | 60% |
Southend | South East | 75% | 59% | 76% | 70% |
St Helens | North West | 69% | 55% | 60% | 68% |
Stevenage | South East | 76% | 64% | 68% | 63% |
Stirling | Scotland | 59% | 62% | 58% | 54% |
Stockport | North West | 71% | 64% | 69% | 68% |
Stoke | Midlands | 73% | 64% | 59% | 61% |
Stranraer | Scotland | 60% | 51% | 62% | 52% |
Sunderland | North East | 65% | 52% | 41% | 33% |
Sutton | London | 75% | 68% | 71% | 74% |
Swansea | Wales | 80% | 73% | 70% | 68% |
Swindon | South West | 78% | 68% | 71% | 60% |
Taunton | South West | 75% | 68% | 75% | 75% |
Teesside | North East | 63% | 54% | 42% | 38% |
Telford | Midlands | 77% | 36% | 71% | .. |
Truro | South West | 82% | 64% | 81% | 73% |
Wakefield | North East | 67% | 56% | 62% | 61% |
Walsall | Midlands | 70% | 61% | 53% | 54% |
Watford | South East | 73% | 50% | 56% | 64% |
Wellingborough | Midlands | 75% | 69% | 67% | 71% |
Welshpool | Wales | 74% | 38% | 48% | 83% |
Weymouth and Dorchester | South West | 80% | 67% | 75% | 66% |
Wick | Scotland | 71% | 42% | 41% | 61% |
Wigan | North West | 67% | 53% | 55% | 55% |
Wolverhampton | Midlands | 71% | 61% | 58% | 53% |
Worcester | Midlands | 80% | 52% | 61% | 65% |
Workington | North West | 70% | 44% | 60% | 70% |
Worle | South West | 82% | 77% | 81% | 55% |
Wrexham | Wales | 85% | 62% | 64% | 73% |
York | North East | 69% | 74% | 69% | 65% |
Social Security and Child Support - Percentage of hearings overturned in favour(4) of claimant by financial year and region, 2020/21 to 2023/24(2,3) | ||||
Region(6) | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/24 |
London | 74% | 66% | 70% | 74% |
Midlands | 74% | 64% | 60% | 60% |
North East | 63% | 54% | 53% | 50% |
North West | 69% | 61% | 62% | 66% |
Scotland | 60% | 57% | 56% | 61% |
South East | 71% | 57% | 63% | 62% |
South West | 79% | 69% | 72% | 65% |
Wales | 78% | 69% | 70% | 68% |
Social Security and Child Support - Percentage of hearings overturned in favour(4) of claimant by financial year and UK nation, 2020/21 to 2023/24(2,3) | ||||
Nation | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/24 |
England | 71% | 61% | 63% | 62% |
Scotland | 60% | 57% | 56% | 61% |
Wales | 78% | 69% | 70% | 68% |
Notes:
1. At venue level, some venues either did not record any cases disposed of at hearing in certain years or were closed for some of the years reported. These values are shown as '..' instead of a number.
2. From April 2023 the SSCS Tribunal started to list cases using a new Scheduling and Listing solution. This, alongside HMCTS migrating to a new Strategic Data Platform, has resulted in some cases heard and decided using this new listing solution not currently being included in the data above. Revised data will be published as soon as they are available.
3. Data are not available for Northern Ireland as appeals for Northern Ireland are administered by the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service.
4. Decisions in favour are those cases where the decision of the first-tier agency is revised in favour of the appellant.
5. Venues which did not record any hearings in the specified period have not been included in the data.
6. The regions to which the venues are attached are specific to this dataset and may not match other reports.