Less paper, better data, quicker transfer of information – how a digital tribunals system is improving the appeals process
Source: gov.uk (2025-03-24)

The Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) tribunal handles appeals when people disagree with decisions about their benefits or child support, made by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) or HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

The tribunal makes it easier for people to appeal decisions about 24 different types of benefits, including:

Universal Credit

Personal Independence Payment

Employment and Support Allowance

Disability Living Allowance

Attendance Allowance

Carer’s Allowance

Child Support

These benefits are intended to help people who may:

need financial support during difficult times

have disabilities or health conditions

are seeking employment

require help with child support arrangements

Before 2016, everything was done on paper. This meant:

staff and judges had to manually handle dozens of documents

high costs for photocopying and posting documents

risk of human error when inputting data

significant environmental impact from paper use and transport

very little flexibility for appellants to track or interact with appeals

There was a clear opportunity and need to offer people the ability to make and manage their appeals online to save time at some stages, increase consistency and flexibility, and reduce the financial cost to the taxpayer.

Benefits of the digital service

Last year over 113,000 appeals were raised by people using our digital system, meaning that:

appellants could track the progress of their own case online at any time of day or night

information was transferred between government departments in seconds rather than days

there were fewer opportunities for errors because data did not need to be manually entered multiple times

the financial and environmental cost to the taxpayer associated with the use and transportation of paper forms was reduced

Our digital transformation

Since 2016, we’ve transformed the service through several significant digital improvements.

At times, we’ve needed to respond to wider changes to alter the original vision for modernising the service, particularly as some benefit types were intended to be moved under Universal Credit by DWP. But at every step, feedback from the people testing and using the service has been essential to overcome challenges and get new changes right before we introduced them in full.

Submit your appeal

By introducing our online portal on GOV.UK appellants (the individuals making the appeal) can now appeal a benefits decision digitally. Other improvements include:

the ability to upload supporting evidence digitally

automatic case creation, significantly reducing staff data entry

faster, clear notifications reach decision-making departments immediately

Appeals now reach DWP within seconds (which previously took a week).

Manage your appeal

Appellants can now subscribe to track the progress of their appeal online. This enables them to:

receive text and email updates directly, without needing to chase

upload additional evidence at any time

check their case status more conveniently

Digital processing

Reform has introduced the ability for paper applications to be brought into – and benefit from – the digital process.

Paper applications on new appeal forms and any supporting evidence are now scanned creating a digital case record. We’ve also expanded our digital printing system meaning paper communications are as efficient as possible.

Through this, nearly 90% of SSCS tribunal cases that can be dealt with online are now handled digitally from start to finish. Between 2019 and 2024 we’ve saved around 7.7 million sheets of paper through applications being made digitally, instead of on paper. And considering the amount of supporting documentation that panel members and agencies require further along the process, we estimate that we saved the equivalent of 18.5 million sheets of paper through making information digital in the financial year ending in 2024 alone.

Better information sharing

By creating a digital system, we’ve significantly improved how information is shared between the parties involved in an appeal.

Evidence is shared smoothly and quickly between all parties

digital bundles for tribunal members are clearer and more accessible

an integrated case scheduling system called ‘List Assist’ is being piloted with intention to deliver nationally to make most efficient use of tribunals time

a single route of contact through our Court and Tribunal Service Centres enables a consistent service through the appellant’s preferred format

The digital system also gives us the data we need to ensure people are able to access justice whoever they are. We can now analyse whether the result of a case is different depending on the particular characteristics of the appellant, such as their language, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation or sex. Our 2023 access to justice report on the reformed SSCS service (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/assessing-access-to-justice-in-hmcts-services/assessing-access-to-justice-in-hmcts-services-summary-report#social-security-and-child-support-sscs) indicated there was no difference in outcome based on these.

The results show the online system is working well:

89% of people now choose to use the online service where it is available, compared to less than a third in 2019

more than 8 in 10 users rate the service as ‘good’ or ‘very good’

over 113,000 people and their families helped in a single year

User feedback shows how the service has improved:

Fantastic easy helpful service. Thank you for making all so easy for all of us.

Excellent service for keeping up to date with appeals.

The website is well displayed and the instructions on it help you to navigate across the system in an easy manner.

Jane’s story

“When I needed to appeal my Personal Independence Payment decision, I found the new online system much easier than the old paper process. Instead of printing forms and posting evidence, I submitted everything through GOV.UK in one sitting.

I could track my case’s progress anytime and upload additional medical evidence when I needed to. Getting text updates meant I didn’t have to keep calling to check what was happening.

Through the new ‘Manage Your Appeal’ feature, I could see exactly what was happening with my case. When I found additional medical evidence, I easily uploaded it through the portal rather than posting it.

The digital system meant my evidence was instantly available to all parties involved. The whole process was less stressful and more transparent than I expected.”

Working together

We work closely with:

DWP and HMRC to develop the service

appellants through user research

Courts and Tribunals Service Centres, Regional Processing Centres and National Business Centres to best support our users

the judiciary as a vital partner at all levels

Getting support

We know not everyone finds it easy to use online services. That’s why we:

still accept paper applications

provide a free digital support service across England, Wales and Scotland

have a dedicated phone service through our Court and Tribunal Service Centre to help with queries and we also offer webchat options

Between June 2022 and May 2024, we provided 7,245 free support sessions to help people use HMCTS services – 93% of these supported SSCS appellants.

Future plans

We’re continuing to improve the service for the people who need to use it. Our plans include:

making online tools even more intuitive and user-friendly

rolling out our ‘List Assist’ scheduling system nationwide in 2025

introducing functionality to help judges and staff manage tasks more efficiently, and progress cases most effectively

improving service delivery based on user feedback

Stay updated

For the latest guidance on appealing a benefits decision, visit: Appeal a benefit decision: Overview - GOV.UK (https://www.gov.uk/appeal-benefit-decision).

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