Tribunal statistics (quarterly) – October to December 2012.
Quarterly statistics for Tribunals – October to December 2012.
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Earlier editions: Tribunals statistics (quarterly)
Introduction
This report presents Official Statistics on Tribunals activity for 1 October to 31 December 2012. Information for the same quarter of earlier years is also given. This report shows information on the outcome of hearing by category (eg cases disposed of at hearing) for the first time for the three largest Tribunals.
Please note we are proposing some changes to future publications of Tribunals Statistics Quarterly and would welcome feedback on this. Please see Annex D of the publication for more details.
Main findings
All Tribunals Combined
The statistics for the quarter 1 October to 31 December 2012 include details for new Tribunals which have recently joined HMCTS . In this report, changes compared with earlier periods are made excluding figures for new Tribunals, so that comparisons are on a like-for-like basis.
Between October and December 2012 (quarter 3), there were 216,252 receipts or claims. This represents a 14 per cent increase over the same quarter of the previous year. The main reason for the increase was the large increase in appeals to the Social Security and Child Support tribunal. There were 186,428 disposals in October to December 2012. This was an increase of 4 per cent on the same quarter of 2011/12.
For all tribunals combined, the caseload outstanding at 31 December 2012 was 832,267 – two per cent higher than the figure recorded at 30 September 2012. The caseload outstanding has risen for all of the largest Tribunals: by 14 per cent for Immigration and Asylum; by 17 per cent for Social Security and Child Support by seven per cent for Employment (ET).
Employment Tribunals
The employment tribunals are independent judicial bodies which determine disputes between employers and employees over employment rights.
Between October and December 2012, Employment Tribunals received 42,603 claims in total – 24 per cent fewer than in the same quarter of 2011/12. The decrease was driven by a reduction in claims under Working Time Directive, which reduced 44 per cent, and accounted for 25 per cent of claims.
There were 25,305 disposals made by Employment Tribunals - a 10 per cent decrease on the number for the same quarter of 2011/12. The number of single disposed claims decreased by four per cent, whilst those for multiple claims decreased by 16 per cent.
First Tier Immigration and Asylum Tribunal
All references to Immigration and Asylum refer to the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber). It is an independent Tribunal dealing with appeals against decisions made by the Home Secretary and Home Office officials in immigration, asylum and nationality matters.
Compared with the same quarter of 2011/12, there was a decrease of seven per cent in the overall number of Immigration and Asylum receipts, to 26,096 – continuing the downward trend. This decrease was apparent for all case types, with the largest percentage falls being for Family Visit Visa (43 per cent) and Asylum (18 per cent).
The number of Immigration and Asylum disposals was 24,526 between October and December 2012, 20 per cent fewer than in the same quarter of 2011/12.
Social Security and Child Support
The Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) appeals jurisdiction, part of the First Tier Tribunal, arranges and carries out independent hearings for appeals on decisions made by the Department for Work and Pensions. This includes Jobcentre Plus, Child Maintenance Group and Disability and Carers Service), as well as other government departments (HM Revenue and Customs) and local authorities.
For SSCS, there were 130,607 receipts between October and December 2012. When compared with the same quarter for the previous year, the number of receipts increased by 48 per cent and this was mainly as a result of the increased number of Employment and Support Allowance appeals, which more than doubled.
There were 118,939 disposals made by SSCS, 14 per cent more than the previous year. There were 95,595 SSCS hearing clearances (those cases disposed of at hearing) during October to December 2012, 17 per cent more than in the same quarter of 2011/12.
The bulletin is produced and handled by the ministry’s analytical professionals and production staff.In addition to Ministry of Justice professional and production staff, pre-release access to the provisional court statistics of up to 24 hours is granted to the following postholders: Ministry of Justice: Secretary of State, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Permanent Secretary, Head of Legal Services Commission, Director General of Finance and Public Services, Head of Analytical Services, Chief Statistician, five Press Officers and Relevant Special Advisers.
Her Majesty’s Court Service: Her Majesty’s Court Service: Chief Executive, Director of Civil, Family and Tribunals, Deputy Director of Tribunals, Head of Performance, Analysis and Reporting and Head of Special and Cross-cutting Tribunals.