Tribunals and gender recognition statistics quarterly: October to December 2016
Source: data.gov.uk (2018-05-25)

Tribunals and Gender Recognition Statistics. The bulletin presents the latest statistics on type and volume of tribunal cases received, disposed of and outstanding and the number of Gender Recognition Certificates applied for and granted.  

The bulletin focuses on information on receipts (i.e. cases received by HMCTS), the outcome of cases by category (e.g. cases disposed of at hearing) and the caseload outstanding (snapshot of live cases at a specific point in time) for the three largest tribunals: Employment, Immigration and Asylum, and Social Security and Child Support. Additional data are available on timeliness, jurisdiction, Employment Tribunal fees, smaller tribunals, Employment Appeal Tribunal and regional receipts for the Employment Tribunal (management information). 

Annual data are published as follows:
* Employment Tribunal and Employment Appeal Tribunal annual statistics are published in September; these include information on representation of claimants, compensation and costs awarded in the Employment Tribunal for the financial year.
* Data from the Special Educational Needs and Disability tribunals covering the academic year are published in December. Further breakdowns include information on the number of appeals registered by type and nature of special education need, and outcomes.
* The number of adjournments and postponements by jurisdiction are published annually in June, along with the number of judicial salaried and fee-paid sittings by jurisdiction.

In addition to monitoring tribunal workloads and timeliness, they are used to assist in the development, monitoring and evaluation of tribunal related policy in collaboration with other Government departments, e.g. DWP, BEIS and Home Office.

Published 9 March 2017 
Tribunals and Gender Recognition Statistics 
Quarterly, October to December 2016 (provisional) 
Main points 
Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) tribunals continue to drive the increasing trend in 
tribunal receipts and disposals, with employment tribunal (particularly multiple claims) 
driving the trend in caseload outstanding.  
103,400 receipts and 
96,800 disposals recorded 
by the HMCTS 
 
Her Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) 
recorded a 4% increase in receipts (to 103,400) and an 
11% increase in disposals (96,800). Outstanding 
caseload increased by 14% compared to the same 
period in 2015. 
Employment Tribunal 
receipts almost halved 
while disposals and 
caseload increased by 8% 
and 14% respectively 
 
Single cases – receipts increased 3%, disposals 
decreased 8%, mean age at disposal fell to 27 weeks 
Multiple cases – receipts decreased by 65%, disposals 
increased 18%, and mean age of disposal increased to 
261 weeks (an increase of 65 weeks). 
FTTIAC receipts continue 
to decline following the 
introduction of the 
Immigration Act 2014 
 
In October to December 2016, First-tier Tribunal 
Immigration and Asylum Chamber (FTTIAC) receipts fell 
by a third (to 12,300) compared to the same period in 
2015 while disposals increased by 23% (to 17,800).  
SSCS appeals continue to 
increase, with ESA and 
PIP appeals driving the 
increase 
 
60,600 Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) 
appeals were received, up 47%. Employment Support 
Allowance (ESA) and Personal Independence Payment 
(PIP) accounted for 85% of all SSCS appeals received. 
 
This publication gives tribunals and gender recognition certificate statistics for the latest 
quarter (Oct to Dec 2016), compared to the same quarter the previous year. For full and 
detailed commentary, please refer to the annual publication, and for information on data and 
policy changes refer to the accompanying guide to tribunal statistics.  
 
We are changing how our quarterly bulletins look, and would welcome any 
feedback to xxx@xxx.xx 
For other feedback related to the content of this publication, please let us know at  
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1. Overview of Tribunals  
103,400 receipts and 96,800 disposals recorded by the HMCTS 
 
Her Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) recorded a 4% increase in receipts 
(to 103,400) and an 11% increase in disposals (96,800). Outstanding caseload 
increased by 14% compared to the same period in 2015. 
 
This summary bulletin focuses mainly on the three largest tribunals as they make up the 
majority (79%) of tribunal receipts. These are;   
 
Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) accounting for 59% of receipts  
 
First Tier Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber  (FTTIAC) – 12% of receipts 
 
Employment Tribunal (ET) – 9% of receipts. 
 
Figure 1: Receipts, disposals and outstanding caseload1 for all tribunals (Source: 
Table S.2-4) 
 
 
 
Figure 1 shows trends in receipts, disposals and caseload outstanding since October to 
December 2013 for the main tribunals and overall. For the October to December 2016 
quarter, when compared to the same quarter in 2015, SSCS drove the increase in overall 
receipts and disposals while ET drove the increase in overall caseload outstanding. 
Receipts and disposals for all tribunals increased by 4% and 11% respectively while SSCS 
receipts and disposals increased by 47% and 24% compared to the same period a year 
ago. Overall caseload outstanding increased by 14%, from 386,736 (as at 31 December 
2015) to 440,035 (as at 31 December 2016) and was driven by Employment Tribunal cases, 
which increased 14% to 253,637, driven by increases in caseload within Multiple ET and 
SSCS tribunals.  
Of the remaining 32 tribunal jurisdictions, mental health is the largest (accounting for 8% of 
all tribunals), with 8,011 receipts in October to December 2016. Mental health receipts 
decreased by 3%, while disposals increased by 1% and caseload outstanding decreased by 
26% compared to October to December 2015. 
Over the longer term, there has been a gradual increase in mental health receipts and 
disposals since Q1 2009/10, while the caseload outstanding has gradually declined from 
5,138 in October to December 2009 to 2,026 in October to December 2016. 
Summary figures on the remaining tribunal types are covered in the accompanying tables.  
                                               
1 Outstanding caseload is based on a snapshot in time based on the last day of each quarter. 

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2. Employment Tribunals 
Employment Tribunal Fees 
 
The proportion of total remission applications granted (across single and multiple 
cases) since the introduction of fees (July 2013), has stabilised around 60% of those 
applying. 
 
In October to December 2016, there were 5,166 cases where an issue fee was expected. 
Of these, 3,362 cases (65%) had the full issue fee paid outright whilst 1,362 cases (26%) 
were awarded either a full or partial issue fee remission.  The vast majority of these issue 
fees requested, full issue fee paid and full or partial remission awarded were for single 
claims (as opposed to multiple claims), and therefore these claims drive the overall trend. 
 
Figure 2.1: Fees Issued, remissions applied for and remissions awarded for single 
cases (Source: Table ETF.1) 
 
 
 
Figure 2.2: Fees Issued, remissions applied for and remissions awarded for multiple 
cases (Source: Table ETF.1)              
 
 
For hearing fees, just over 3,000 were requested in October to December 2016 – at the time 
the data was extracted, 590 requests (19%) had the full hearing fee paid outright, taking on 
average 68.2 days for payment to be made (from the date the initial issue was requested) 
and 414 (14%) had been awarded either a full or partial remission.  These data will be 
updated next quarter when more time has lapsed for outcomes to be recorded. 

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Single cases 
 
In October to December 2016, receipts increased 3% and disposals decreased 
by 8%, which drove a 7% increase in caseload outstanding.  
Multiple cases 
 
Receipts decreased by 65%, disposals and caseload outstanding increased by 
18% and 14% respectively. The mean age of disposal increased to 261 weeks (an 
increase of 65 weeks) compared to October to December 2015. 
 
Figure 2.3: Index of Employment Tribunals single & multiple claim receipts, disposals 
& claims outstanding, Q3 2009/10-Q3 2016/17 (Source: Table S.2-4) 
 
    Receipts  
 
 
       Disposals2  
 
 Claims outstanding 
 
  
 
The number of single claims received in October to December 2016 was 4,355 – an 
increase of 3% on the same period of 2015. Figure 2 shows the trend in single claims had 
gradually declined from 2009/10 until Q2 2013/14, and then dropped sharply in Q3 2013/14 
following the introduction of Employment Tribunal fees in July 2013. Since Q4 2013/14 
single claim receipts have remained relatively stable, with around 4,300 claims per quarter. 
 
There were 4,760 multiple claims received this quarter, a decrease of 65% on the same 
period last year. Multiple claims tend to be more volatile as they can contain a high number 
of claims against a single employer. The multiple claims related to 231 multiple claim cases 
(an average of 21 claims per multiple case), a decrease of 22% on the same period last 
year (when there were 298 multiple claims cases, with an average of 46 claims per case). 
 
10,922 claims were disposed of in the Employment Tribunal during October to December 
2016, up 8% on the same period in 2015, driven by an 18% increase in the number of 
multiple claims disposed of. The multiples claims relate to 195 multiple claim cases, a 
decrease of 21% when compared to October to December 2015 when there were 246 
multiple claims cases disposed of. Single claim disposals also decreased over the same 
period (down 8%).  In October to December 2016, 37% of jurisdictional complaints disposed 
of were Acas conciliated settlements, 16% were withdrawn, and 5% were successful at 
hearing. The most common jurisdictional complaint disposed of in this quarter was ‘Equal 
Pay’. 
 
The total caseload outstanding for Employment Tribunals at the end of December 2016 was 
253,637, the majority (96%) relating to multiple claims. 
                                               
2 Peak in Q3 2013/14 is due to a large multiple airlines case relating to the Working Time Directive  
Baseline: 2009/10 

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3. Immigration and Asylum 
First-tier Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber (FTTIAC)  
 
In October to December 2016, there were 12,300 receipts in the FTTIAC, down 
33% on the same period in 2015. Continuing the decline seen following the 
introduction of the Immigration Act 2014.  
 
Disposals have increased from 14,500 to 17,800, up 23% on the same period in 
2015, a possible reversal of the trend seen since the introduction of the 
Immigration Act.  
Caseload outstanding has remained stable compared to the same period in 
2015, possibly indicating a change in trend from the peak seen in Q1 2016/17. 
 
Figure 3.1: First-tier Tribunal, Immigration and Asylum Chamber receipts, disposals 
and caseload outstanding, Q3 2014/15 to Q3 2016/17 (Source: Tables FIA.1 and FIA.2) 
 
 
 
The Immigration Act 2014 tribunal categories (Human Rights (HR), EEA Free Movement 
(EEA) and Asylum Protection (AP)) make up the majority (97%) of the FTTIAC new receipts.  
 
HR receipts decreased 29% from October to December 2015 (7,801 to 5,525), and 
proportionally represents 45% of all receipts (up from 42%). EEA receipts also decreased 
by 16% (3,104 to 2,613), but proportionally increased from 17% to 21% of all receipts. 
Asylum Protection receipts decreased by 6%, but increased from 22% to 31% of all 
receipts. Managed Migration decreased from comprising of 17% of all receipts in October to 
December 2015 to just 1% in October to December 2016. 
 
The FTTIAC disposed of 17,839 appeals, up 23% on October to December 2015. 33% of 
First-tier disposals are comprised of pre-Immigration Act categories, of which Managed 
Migration accounts for 26% of all disposals.  For the new (or re-classified) categories, 
Human Rights, EEA Free Movement, and Asylum, Protection and Revocation of Protection 
appeals accounting for 24%, 13% and 30% respectively.   
 
Of the disposals made in the FTTIAC, 82% (14,620) were determined i.e. a decision was 
made by a judge at a hearing or on the papers3; 14% were withdrawn; 3% were invalid or 
                                               
3 Paper cases are considered in chambers on the basis of the evidence submitted by both parties rather than at 
an oral hearing, which can include the application and documentation from Home Office 

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out of time, and 1% were struck out. Of the 14,620 determined, 42% were allowed/granted, 
and this was similar across the new IA 2014 categories (38% for Asylum protection and 
44% for human rights). 
 
Of the three main appeal categories; the majority are disposed of within a year of receipt. 
Total overall timeliness across all categories has increased by 12 weeks to 48 weeks, 
this is due to older categories increasing the average timeliness. The phased-out pre-
Immigration Act categories average timeliness has roughly doubled (compared to the same 
period in 2015), whilst disposals within each category have decreased. 
 
Of the of the three main appeal categories, average timeliness is lower at around 30-35 
weeks, with Human Rights at 45 weeks, due to the complexity of cases. 
 
For the UTIAC, both receipts and disposals are down 1% (to 1,675) and 17% (to 1,654) 
respectively.  Managed Migration, one of the phased out immigration tribunal categories, 
accounted for the largest proportion of UTIAC receipts and disposals in October to 
December 2016 (with 40% of receipts and 41% of disposals). However receipts and 
disposals were 18% and 41% less respectively than in October to December 2015, showing 
the gradual phasing out of this old category type. 
 
 
 
UTIAC Immigration and Asylum Judicial Reviews  
 
In October to December 2016, there were 3,200 Immigration and Asylum Judicial 
Review receipts and 3,400 disposed of at the UTIAC, down 23% and 36% 
respectively on October to December 2015. 
 
 
Of the 3,387 Immigration and Asylum Judicial Reviews disposed of in the UTIAC in October 
to December 2016, 71% were determined and 2% were transferred to the Administrative 
Court (the remaining 26% were in an ‘other category, which included cases where no fee 
was paid, were withdrawn or not served) (see table UIA.2).  
 
During October to December 2016, 2,570 judicial reviews were determined by paper 
hearing, of which 205 (8%) were allowed to continue to oral hearing stage. A further 749 
were reconsidered at an oral renewal, of which 165 (22%) were allowed to continue to the 
oral hearing stage. There were 79 oral hearings which were determined in October to 
December 2016, of which 30% were granted in favour of the appellant (see table UIA.3). 

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4. Social Security and Child Support 
Increase in receipts and disposal rates, with a related increase in caseload 
 
Overall receipts up 47% to 60,600, continuation of trend since April to June 2014. 
This increase is driven by two types of benefit – Personal Independence Payment 
and Employment Support Allowance, up 71% and 58% respectively, and 
comprise 85% of receipts in October to December 2016.  
86% of disposals were cleared at hearing with a 63% overturn rate  
 
Of the 46,200 disposals in October to December 2016, 86% were cleared at a 
hearing and of these, 63% had the initial decision revised in favour of the claimant 
(up from 55% in the same period in 2015).  
 
Figure 4.1: Social Security and Child Support receipts, disposals and caseload 
outstanding, Q1 2009/10 to Q3 2016/17 (Source: Table S.2 – S.4) 
 
 
 
The number of appeals has been gradually increasing since April to June 2014. In October 
to December 2016, 60,577 appeals against decisions were received, up 47% when 
compared with the same period in 2015. This increase is mainly driven by increases seen in 
Employment Support Allowance (ESA) and Personal Independence Payment (PIP) appeals 
which accounted for 85% of all SSCS appeals in this quarter. 
 
Employment Support Allowance (ESA) and Personal Independence Payment (PIP) also 
make up the majority of SSCS disposals, with 39% and 43% of total disposals respectively. 
Disability Living Allowance (DLA) is gradually being replaced by Personal Independence 
Payment (PIP) and comprises 4% of total disposals, down from 5% in the same quarter of 
2015.  
 
The number of disposals has gradually increased alongside receipts. In October to 
December 2016, 46,230 cases were disposed, up 24% when compared with the same 
period in 2015. Of these disposals, 39,696 (86%) were cleared at hearing and of these 63% 
were found in favour of the customer. This overturn rate varied by benefit type, with PIP 
having 65% in favour of the customer, ESA 68%, DLA 56% and JSA 38%.  
 
There were 79,455 SSCS cases outstanding at the end of December 2016, up 43% when 
compared to the same period in 2015. This has been driven by an increase in appeal 
receipts. 
 
Of those cases disposed of by SSCS in October to December 2016, the mean age of a 
case at disposal was 16 weeks, three weeks less than the same period in 2015. 

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5. Gender Recognition Certificate 
65 GRP applications received, 40 disposed of and 85 pending by December 2016 
 
Of the 40 applications disposed of, a full Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) was 
granted in 90% of cases, up from 85% in the same period in 2015.  
Since April 2005/06, two thirds of interim certificates (129 of the 194) were converted 
into full GRC, 57% of which were within 30 weeks. 
 
Over the long-term the number of receipts and disposals has been gradually increasing, 
although generally receipts have been higher than disposals, and in the most recent two 
years this has reflected an increase in applications pending. 
Figure 5.1: Applications for Gender Recognition Certificates received, disposed of 
and pending, 2008/09 to 2015/16 (Source: Table GRP.1 and GRP.2) 
 
 
In October to December 2016, 36 full certificates were granted, of which 3 were married and 
31 were single (the marital status for the remaining two applicants is unknown). Twenty two 
(61%) of the individuals with full certificates granted were registered male at birth and 14 
(39%) were registered female at birth. The age breakdown of individuals with full certificates 
granted over time is given below, by the year of birth. 
Figure 5.2: Full Gender Recognition Certificates granted by year of birth, 2008/09 to 
2015/16 (Source: Table GRP.4) 
 

Further information 
Provisional data and revisions 
The data presented in this publication are provisional. Final data for Q1-Q3 in the financial 
year are published in June (the 4th quarter) and for Q4 the final data is published in 
September (Q1 of the following year). If revisions are needed in the subsequent year, these 
will be clearly annotated in the tables. 
 
Rounding convention 
Within the ‘Key Findings’ section, figures greater than 1,000 are rounded to the nearest 100. 
 
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. 
 
A set of overview tables, covering each section of this bulletin and two additional 
sets of tables on Employment Tribunals (for ET Fees and ET Management 
information) 
 
A set of CSV files including data on each of the three large tribunals (SSCS, 
Employment and Immigration and Asylum) and an overall receipts and disposals 
CSV, covering all tribunal types. 
 
Contact 
Press enquiries should be directed to the Ministry of Justice or HMCTS press office: 
Sebastian Walters (MOJ) - email: xxx@xxx.xx  
Camila Marshall (HMCTS) - email: xxx@xxx.xx 
 
Other enquiries about these statistics should be directed to the Justice Statistics Analytical 
Services division of the Ministry of Justice: 
Bridgette Miles - email: xxx@xxx.xx 
 
Next update: 8 June 2017 
URL: www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics 
 
 
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