The waiting time for a social security appeal is now around eight months, with the backlog of unheard cases now standing at well over 100,000.
The latest quarterly tribunal statistics cover the period January to March 2026. They reveal that the number of social security appeals lodged went up by 32% this quarter, to 45,000, compared to January to March 2025. This was mainly due to an increase in personal independence payment (PIP) appeals, which increased by 24%, accounting for 61% of all social security appeals lodged in January to March 2026.
However, the number of appeals actually dealt with fell by 6% in this quarter compared to the same time last year, down from 30,000 to 28,000.
59% of appeals were cleared at a hearing, down from 64%. 60% were won by the claimant, up from 59% compared to the same quarter in 2025.
Breaking this down by benefit, the success rate for claimants was:
- PIP 67%, up 1%
- DLA 63%, up 7%
- ESA 44%, down 5%
- UC 43%, down 6%
In total, there were 113,000 cases waiting for a hearing at the end of March 2026, an increase of 39% compared to March 2025.
The average waiting time for a case to be heard once it has been lodged is currently 35 weeks, up by 3 weeks from last year. When added to the 79 day average wait for a mandatory reconsideration decision, this means that the time taken to challenge a PIP decision is now around 11 months on average.
