Official Statistics

Tribunal Statistics Quarterly: October to December 2023

Published 14 March 2024

1. Main Points

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This publication presents tribunals statistics for the latest quarter (October to December, Q3 2023/24), compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

This publication does not include all the tribunals – parts of ET and UTIAC are excluded. The total of the remaining jurisdictions is referred to in this publication and accompanying tables as the ‘Interim Total’ and has been provided to allow like-for-like comparisons over time. Details of what is not included is provided in each of the relevant sections of the main bulletin.

Data from the missing tribunals will be published as soon as they become available, and the data has been checked and quality assured.

The interim[footnote 1] overall volume of receipts, disposals and open cases increased	In October to December 2023 His Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) recorded a 26% increase in the interim[footnote 1] total for receipts, and a 17% increase in the interim[footnote 1] total for disposals, when compared to the same quarter in 2022. The interim[footnote 1] total for open cases increased by 8% to 663,000 over the same period.
SSCS receipts and open cases increased, and disposals decreased.	Compared to the same period in 2022, Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) receipts increased by 12%, disposals decreased by 5% and open cases increased by 33%. The increase in receipts was driven by increases in Personal Independence Payment (by 14%). The decrease in disposals was driven by decreases in Personal Independence Payment and Employment Support Allowance (by 14% and 15% respectively).
FTTIAC receipts, disposals and open cases all increased	FTTIAC receipts, disposals and open cases all increased (by 83%, 18% and 43% respectively) in October to December 2023 compared to the same period in 2022.
Employment Tribunal receipts and open caseload increased, while disposals decreased	Single Employment Tribunal (ET) receipts and open cases increased by 6% and 7% respectively, while disposals decreased by 11% in Q3 2023/24, compared to the same period a year ago. In Q3 2023/24 Multiple ET receipts, disposals, and open cases all increased, by 3%, 100% and 2% respectively compared to Q3 2023/24.
Gender Recognition Certificates receipts, disposals and open cases increased	This quarter there were 297 Gender Recognition Panel (GRP) applications received, 250 disposals and an open caseload of 790. GRP receipts, disposals and open caseload increased (by 10%, 41%, and 30% respectively) in Q3 2023, compared to the same period in 2022.

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2. Statistician’s Comment

This quarter disposals have shown a 17% increase compared to the same period in 2022/23. However, receipts have also risen over this period, outstripping the upturn in disposals and resulting in an increase in open caseload. The increase in receipts is driven by sharp upturns in FTTIAC and first-tier tax chamber claims, in addition to the continuation of generally increasing trends in both SEND and SSCS. The rise in disposals is driven by a large ET multiple claims settlement over this period.

There have been considerable increases in FTTIAC and First-tier tax chamber receipts this quarter. FTTIAC receipts and open caseload, were up 83% and 43% respectively compared to the same period in 2022. This is driven by a sharp upturn in Asylum/Protection (AP) receipts this quarter, stemming from the Home Office tackling its legacy asylum decision backlog. Although disposals for FTTIAC appeals have also increased by 18% this quarter, this is a far smaller increase than that of receipts and therefore has resulted in a corresponding increase in open caseload.

Receipts in the first-tier tax chamber have seen another sharp upturn this quarter, more than trebling from the same period in the previous year. The continued fluctuation is due to the bulk receipt and registration of appeals relating to umbrella companies. Although disposals have increased by 28% over this period, open caseload has risen to the highest level in the timeseries at 52,000.

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3. Overview of Tribunals

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Receipts interim^{[footnote 1]} total was 105,000 and disposals interim^{[footnote 1]} total was 90,000

In October to December 2023, HMCTS recorded a 26% increase in the interim^{[footnote 1]} total for receipts, and a 17% increase in the interim^{[footnote 1]} totals for disposals, when compared to the same quarter in 2022. Open caseload interim^{[footnote 1]} total increased by 8%, to 663,000, over the same period.

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This publication does not include Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) data since Q2 of 2021/22 and Employment Tribunals data for Q1 2021/22 due to database migration as stated above. The total of the remaining jurisdictions is referred to in this publication and accompanying tables as the ‘Interim Total’ and has been provided to allow consistent year-on-year comparisons over time.

This summary bulletin focuses mainly on the Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) Tribunal, the First-tier Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber (FTTIAC), and the Employment Tribunal as they made up the majority (75%) of tribunal interim^{[footnote 1]} receipts in October to December 2023:

• Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) - 33% of receipts
• Employment Tribunal (ET) - 23% of receipts
• First-tier tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber (FTTIAC) - 19% of receipts

Figure 3.1: Receipts interim totals, Q3 2019/20 to Q3 2023/24 (Source: Table S_2)

Figure 3.2: Disposals interim totals, Q3 2019/20 to Q3 2023/24 (Source: Table S_3)

Figure 3.3: Open caseload^{[footnote 2]} interim totals, Q3 2019/20 to Q3 2023/24 (Source: Table S_4)

The charts above show the trends in receipts, disposals and open caseload over the last five years for SSCS, FTTIAC, ET, and all tribunals overall (using the Interim^{[footnote 1]} Total measure).

In October to December 2023, overall interim^{[footnote 1]} receipts increased by 26% compared to October to December 2022. This was driven by increases in First-tier Tax Chamber and FTTIAC (by 255% and 83% respectively).

Overall interim^{[footnote 1]} disposals increased by 17% in October to December 2023 (to 90,000). The Employment Tribunal disposed of 55% more cases in Q3 2023/24 compared to Q3 2022/23. SSCS disposals decreased by 5% over the same period.

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4. Social Security and Child Support

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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.

SSCS receipts and open cases increased, and disposals decreased.

Compared to the same period in 2022, Social Security and Child Support (SSCS), receipts and open cases increased by 12% and 33% respectively. Disposals decreased by 5%.

Of the 30,000 disposals in Q3 2023/24, 56% were cleared at a hearing and of these, 62% had the initial decision revised in favour of the claimant (compared to 61% and 62% in the same period in 2022/23 respectively).

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Figure 4.1: Social Security and Child Support receipts, Q3 2019/20 to Q3 2023/24 (Source: Tables SSCS_1)

Figure 4.2: Social Security and Child Support disposals, Q3 2019/20 to Q3 2023/24 (Source: Tables SSCS_2)

Figure 4.3: Social Security and Child Support open caseload, Q3 2019/20 to Q3 2023/24 (Source: Tables S_4)

The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in an increase in the number of people on Universal Credit^{[footnote 3]} as the employment rate decreased and economic inactivity increased. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) changes to benefit processes in response to the pandemic, such as the temporary suspension of face-to-face assessments for health and disability-related benefits, contributed to the general downward trend in receipts seen during the pandemic. As the policies put in place due to COVID-19 came to an end and restrictions were eased, SSCS receipts increased significantly from Q2 2021/22 and have remained relatively stable in the latest 12 months reported.

SSCS receipts increased by 12% this quarter, to 35,000 appeals, compared to October to December 2022. This was driven by increases in Personal Independence Payment (by 14%). PIP and UC appeals accounted for 67% and 17% respectively of all SSCS receipts in October to December 2023.

In October to December 2023, SSCS disposals decreased by 5% when compared to the same period in 2022 (from 32,000 in Q3 2022/23 to 30,000 in Q3 2023/24). PIP made up nearly two thirds of SSCS disposals (62%).

Of the disposals made by the SSCS tribunal, 17,000 (56%) were cleared at hearing, and of these, 62% were overturned in favour of the customer (down from 61% and no change from 62% on the same period in 2022 respectively). This overturn rate varied by benefit type, with PIP at 70%, Disability Living Allowance (DLA) 58%, Employment Support Allowance (ESA) 49%, and UC 54%. The PIP, DLA, ESA and UC overturn rates remained relatively stable compared with October to December 2022 (PIP up 1, DLA down 3, ESA down 0 and UC up 1 percentage points).

There were 79,000 SSCS open caseload at the end of December 2023, an increase of 33% compared to the same period in 2022. SSCS open caseload decreased gradually between Q4 2017/18 and Q2 2021/22 (from a peak of 125,000 to 32,000), only rising in Q3 2019/20. However, SSCS open caseload has started to rise again, increasing in each of the quarters since Q2 2021/22.

Of those cases disposed of by the SSCS tribunal in October to December 2023, the mean age of a case at disposal was 25 weeks, a 1 week increase compared to the same period in 2022 (see table T_2).

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5. Immigration and Asylum

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First-tier Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber (FTTIAC)

In October to December 2023, FTTIAC receipts increased by 83% to 20,000, compared to Q3 2022/23. Disposals increased by 18% (to 9,400), over the same period.

In the same period, open caseload increased by 43% (to 41,000).

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Figure 5.1: First-tier Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber receipts, Q3 2019/20 to Q3 2023/24 (Source: Tables FIA_1)

Figure 5.2: First-tier Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber disposals, Q3 2019/20 to Q3 2023/24 (Source: Tables FIA_2)

Figure 5.3: First-tier Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber open caseload, Q3 2019/20 to Q3 2023/24 (Source: Tables S_4)

Following on from a steep fall in 2020/21 due to the impact of the pandemic, FTTIAC receipts started to return to pre-Covid19 levels over the course of 2020/21. In 2021/22, FTTIAC receipts increased by 52% (to 40,000) compared to 2020/21 and over the course of 2022/23 decreased by 5% (to 38,000). This quarter receipts increased by 83% (to 20,000) compared to the same period last year. The increase in appeals to the FTTIAC follows the Home Office’s work to tackle the backlog of legacy asylum claims.

The First-tier Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber received 40 Deprivation of Citizenship receipts this quarter, a decrease of 39% compared to the same quarter last year. Deprivation of Citizenship disposals decreased by 27% compared to the same quarter last year (to 62).

The proportion of European Economic Area/European Union Settlement Scheme (EEA/EUSS) receipts has decreased since the EUSS route closed for most people to apply on 30th June 2021, now making up 18% of all FTTIAC receipts. In October to December 2023, there were 3,600 EEA/EUSS receipts, a decrease of 8% compared to the same period last year.

Compared to Q3 2022/23, Human Rights (HR) receipts decreased by 16% to 3,700. Asylum/Protection (AP) receipts increased by 420% compared to the same period in 2022 (to 13,000). HR and AP proportionally represented 19% and 63% of all FTTIAC receipts respectively (down 22 and up 41 percentage points respectively from a year ago).

In Q3 2023/24, FTTIAC disposals increased by 18% to 9,400. This rise in disposals was driven by increases in Human Rights and Asylum/Protection/Revocation of Protection (by 40% and 49% respectively). HR appeals made up the largest proportion (43%) of all FTTIAC disposals in October to December 2023, up from 36% a year ago.

Of the disposals made in the FTTIAC this quarter, 68% were determined i.e. a decision was made by a judge at a hearing or on the papers (compared to 63% in Q3 2022/23); 18% were withdrawn (compared to 17% in Q3 2022/23); 3% were struck out for non-payment of the appeal fee (compared to 6% in Q3 2022/23), and 4% were invalid or out of time (compared to 4% in Q3 2022/23). Around half (49%) of the 6,400 cases determined at a hearing or on the papers were allowed/granted, although this varied by case type (50% of Asylum/Protection, 54% of Human Rights and 43% of EEA Free Movement appeals were allowed/granted).

In the FTTIAC, the mean time taken to clear appeals across all categories is at 43 weeks this quarter, which is 2 weeks more than compared to the same period a year ago. Asylum/Protection, Human Rights and EEA Free Movement had mean times taken of 44 weeks, 42 weeks and 41 weeks respectively.

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Upper Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber (UTIAC)

In Q3 2023/24 UTIAC Judicial Review receipts increased by 19%, to 710, compared to the same period a year ago. Disposals increased by 26% to 740 whilst open caseload rose by 40%, to 1,500, compared to October to December 2022.

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UTIAC Immigration and Asylum Judicial Reviews

This publication does not include receipts, disposals and open caseload figures for the Upper Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber (UTIAC) due to this tribunal being migrated to new case management systems. The data will be published as soon as the work is completed, and the data has been checked and quality assured.

In October to December 2023, there were 710 Immigration and Asylum Judicial Review receipts and 740 disposals, an increase of 19% and an increase of 26% respectively on October to December 2022.

Of the 740 Immigration and Asylum Judicial Reviews disposed of, 50% were determined and 1% were transferred to the Administrative Court. The remaining 48% were in the ‘Other’ category, which includes cases that were withdrawn or not served.

During October to December 2023, 550 UTIAC Judicial Review applications were determined by paper hearing, of which 17% were allowed to continue to the substantive hearing stage. A further 42 were reconsidered at an oral renewal, of which 86% were allowed to continue to the substantive hearing stage. There were 11 substantive hearings which were determined in October to December 2023 of which 45% were granted in favour of the appellant (see table UIA_3).

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6. Employment Tribunals

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Employment Tribunal single cases

In Q3 2023, the Employment Tribunal received 8,100 single claim receipts and disposed of 7,100 single claim cases. There were 33,000 single claim open caseload at the end of December.

Employment Tribunal lead multiple cases

There were 630 lead multiple cases received and 450 cases disposed of in Q3 2023. The number of open lead cases stood at 6,000 at the end of December.

Employment Tribunal multiple cases

This quarter there were 16,000 Multiple claim receipts, 23,000 disposals and open caseload stood at 431,000 at the end of December.

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Employment Tribunals transitioned to a new database (Employment Case Management) during March to May 2021. It has not been possible to provide full results from both databases during this migration period on a consistent basis. Therefore, Employment Tribunal (ET) data is not available for Q1 2021/22, and as a result we are unable to present data for the full financial year of 2021/22.

Again, from September 2022, the Employment Tribunal are migrating to a new case management system (ECM Reform), as a part of this move they have taken the opportunity to review the legacy case load to ensure that the volume of cases captured in the open caseload accurately reflects cases being progressed through the system and that all cases with a final outcome have been recorded accurately and are removed from this count. This has led to differences in volume between earlier versions of the statistics and this publication.

Due to the migration process, the data on Employment Tribunals does not include jurisdictional breakdown for receipts or disposals. The Employment Tribunal timeliness cannot be provided due to there being no jurisdictional data. The data will be made available as soon as possible when the data is extracted and quality assured.

From this quarter, Q3 2023/24, the ET data tables and reporting has been changed to include a timeseries for receipts, disposals and open caseload for lead multiple cases, in line with HMCTS reporting.

In Q3 2023/24, there were 24,000 Employment Tribunals (ET) receipts, 34% (8,100) of which were single claims receipts, and the remaining 66% (16,000) were multiple claims receipts, with 630 lead multiple cases. The ET disposed of 30,000 cases in Q3 2023/24. At the end of Q3 2023/24, 464,000 cases were outstanding.

Figure 6.1: Index of Employment Tribunals single and multiple claim receipts, Q3 2018/19 to Q3 2023/24 (Source: Tables S_2)

• Baseline 2019/20 Q3

Figure 6.2: Index of Employment Tribunals single and multiple claim disposals, Q3 2018/19 to Q3 2023/24 (Source: Tables S_3)

• Baseline 2019/20 Q3

Figure 6.3: Index of Employment Tribunals single and multiple claims open caseload, Q3 2018/19 to Q3 2023/24 (Source: Tables S_4)

• Baseline 2019/20 Q3

Single claim open caseload (at 33,000) has fallen from a peak of 44,000 since Q3 2020/21, although this is up 7% compared to the same period in 2022/23.

There were 16,000 multiple claims received this quarter. Multiple claims tend to be more volatile as they can be skewed by a high number of claims against a single employer.

The peaks seen in the disposal chart in Q3 2021/22 and Q3 2023/24 are due to large spikes in multiple claims:

• A dismissal judgment was issued in December 2021 for 48,000 British Airways claims covering 71,000 jurisdictions. These claims had been withdrawn over a number of years but given the volume and restrictions with the old case management system these had not been formally closed until now, hence the spike. This figure is expected to be revised again as there is still closure action to take place on some of the claims.
• From November 2023, a bulk case of multiple claims for equal pay against Glasgow City Council have been settled and subsequently withdrawn, resulting in the spike in disposals in Q3 2023/24. These cases are still being processed and further disposals of these multiples are expected in the following quarters.

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7. Gender Recognition Certificates

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297 Gender Recognition Panel (GRP) applications were received and 249 were disposed of between October to December 2023; 790 applications were pending by the end of December 2023

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The GRP received 297 applications this quarter, an increase of 26 compared to October to December 2022. Of the 249 applications disposed of, a full Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) was granted in 86% of cases (215 full GRCs), the same proportion compared to the same period in 2022 (where 150 full GRCs were granted out of 180 disposals).

As expected, GRP receipts have increased annually since 2017/18, particularly more recently following a reduction in the application fee in May 2021 from £140 to £5, and the move to an online application process in July 2022. This has come at the same time as an increase in both the open caseload and refusals. Open caseload reached 790 cases in Q3 2023/24, while 9% of all disposals (22 cases) have been refused. Applications can be refused if they do not meet the required criteria. More information on the criteria can be found at the following link: Apply for a Gender Recognition Certificate - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) (URL:https://www.gov.uk/apply-gender-recognition-certificate).

Since April 2005/06, when the Gender Recognition Act 2004 came into effect, 66% of interim certificates (171 of the 261 interim GRCs granted) have been converted to a full GRC, 52% of which were converted within 30 weeks. No interim certificates were converted to a full GRC between October to December 2023. The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act (2020), which took effect from 6th April 2022, changed the process for no fault divorces, reducing the need for interim certificates; we therefore expect to see a considerable drop in these. Of the 215 full certificates granted in October to December 2023, 19 were for married applicants and 192 for single applicants. 99 (46%) of the individuals granted full certificates were registered male at birth while 116 (54%) were registered female at birth.

Figure 7.1: Applications for Gender Recognition Certificates received, disposed of and pending, Q3 2019/20 to Q3 2023/24 (Source: Tables GRP_1 and GRP_2)

Figure 7.2: Full Gender Recognition Certificates granted by year of birth, 2018/19 to 2022/23 (Source: Table GRP_4)

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8. Other Tribunals

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Increase in First-tier tax Chamber receipts by 255% compared to the same quarter last year

The First-tier Tax Chamber recorded 7,000 receipts this quarter, an increase of 255% compared to the same quarter last year. In the same period, 1,900 appeals were disposed of and open cases increased by 16% (to 52,000).

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First-tier Tax Chamber

There has been an increase in all case types in the First-tier Tax Chamber this quarter. Receipts increased by 255%, to 7,000, compared to the same quarter last year. Disposals and open cases also increased by 28% and 16% to 1,900 and 52,000 respectively. This fluctuation is due to the bulk and receipt & registration of appeals relating to umbrella companies.

Figure 8.1: First-tier Tax Chamber receipts, disposals and open caseload Q3 2019/20 to Q3 2023/24 (Source: Tables S_2, S_3, and S_4)

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Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND)

Increase in Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) receipts by 74% compared to the same quarter last year

Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) recorded 5,100 receipts this quarter, the highest amount in any quarter in the timeseries and an increase of 74% compared to the same quarter last year. In the same period, 3,600 appeals were disposed of - the highest number disposals in a quarter, and open caseload rose to 7,900 increases of 27% and 42% respectively.

SEN reforms in 2014 introduced Education Health and Care plans (EHCPs) and extended the provision of support from birth to 25 years of age. In addition, the National Trial which began in April 2018 enabled the Tribunal to make non-binding recommendations on the health and social care elements of the EHC plan. Those provisions were mainstreamed with effect from 1 September 2021.

Figure 8.2: Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) receipts, disposals and open caseload Q3 2019/20 to Q3 2023/24 (Source: Tables S_2, S_3, and S_4)

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9. Further information

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Rounding convention

Figures greater than 10,000 are rounded to the nearest 1,000, those between 1,000 and 10,000 are rounded to the nearest 100 and those between 100 to 1,000 are rounded to the nearest 10. Less than 100 are given as the actual number.

Accompanying files

As well as this bulletin, the following products are published as part of this release:

• A supporting document providing further information on how the data is collected and processed, as well as information on the revisions policy and legislation relevant to trends and background on the functioning of the tribunal system.

• The quality statement published with this guide sets out our policies for producing quality statistical outputs for the information we provide to maintain our users’ understanding and trust.

• A set of overview tables, covering each section of this bulletin.

• A set of CSV files including data on overall receipts and disposals CSV, covering all tribunal types.

• Additional releases this quarter:

  • Update to the statistical notice on Immigration and Asylum (I&A) Detained Immigration Appeals (DIA) to include data to Q3 2023/24.

Future publications

Our statisticians regularly review the content of publications. Development of new and improved statistical outputs is usually dependent on reallocating existing resources. As part of our continual review and prioritisation, we welcome user feedback on existing outputs including content, breadth, frequency and methodology. Please send any comments you have on this publication including suggestions for further developments or reductions in content.

Official Statistics

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OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.

You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards.

Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website.

Contact

Press office - email: pressofficecourtslaw@justice.gov.uk

Other enquiries and feedback on these statistics should be directed to the Data and Evidence as a Service division of the Ministry of Justice:

Rita Kumi-Ampofo or Laura Jones - email: CAJS@justice.gov.uk

Next update: 13 June 2024 (URL: www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics)

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1. The interim totals for the overall volumes of tribunal receipts, disposals and open caseload exclude the Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) for which the data is currently not available. See the main tables S_2, S_3 and S_4 for more information. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³

2. Open caseload is based on a snapshot in time based on the last day of each quarter. ↩

3. Official statistics overview: Universal Credit statistics ↩