To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will list in the Official Report for each tribunal area the number of outstanding appeals currently waiting to be heard and the average length of wait for appeals to be heard;(2) how many people are waiting for their appeal tribunal to be heard; and what is the average length of time before an appeal is heard.
The national administrative statistics for social security appeal tribunals, which are the source for average durations between the lodging of appeals and hearing, are not disaggregated for areas smaller than a social security region. The latest available figures for the quarter ending 30 September 1987 are given in the table.
| Social Security Appeal Tribunals—All benefits quarter ending 30 September 1987 | ||
| Total number of Appeals held | Average time from lodgement to hearing | |
| (weeks) | ||
| Great Britain | 124,027 | 23·2 |
| North Eastern Region | 23,160 | 22·8 |
| London North Region | 12,508 | 21·1 |
| London South Region | 11,303 | 23·2 |
| Midlands Region | 19,171 | 25·4 |
| North Western Region | 19,516 | 22·7 |
Total number of Appeals held
| Average time from lodgement to hearing
| |
(weeks)
| ||
| Wales and South Western Region | 11,572 | 19·6 |
| Scotland | 26,797 | 26·3 |