Statistics released by Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) in response to questions raised by Bob Ainsworth, MP show geographic variations in the outcome of employment and support allowance (ESA) and disability living allowance (DLA) appeals, and in the length of time it takes for appeals to be heard.
For the period 2010-11, success at DLA appeals ranged from 38% in Coventry to 23% in Kidderminster, a difference of 15%. Similarly a difference of 12% is shown for ESA appeals, with a 35% success rate in Stoke as compared to 23% in Birmingham.
The difference is even more marked for DLA appeals for the period 2011-12. Success at DLA appeals ranged from 43% in Coventry to a much lesser percentage at Kidderminster where only 24% of DLA appeals were found in favour of the claimant. For ESA appeals, whilst only 32% of claimants succeeded at appeals in Birmingham, at Worcester 43% of appeals were decided in claimants’ favour.
More statistics can be found here as well as details of HMCTS attempts to increase capacity in response to the growing numbers of appeals.
