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<p>(1) Appeals to the First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support) (SSCS)
have continued to be heard inline with government guidance throughout the pandemic.
Face to face hearings have been replaced with telephone hearings and the use of other
remote hearing technology to facilitate as many hearings as possible being held remotely.
All parties to the hearings are being contacted directly to confirm the new hearing
arrangements.</p><p>In addition to holding remote hearings in all regions, appeals
may also be decided by judges sitting alone in chambers, using the evidence before
them in the case papers.</p><p>(2) The number of appeals which were ready to list<sup>1</sup>
for a hearing as at 31 March<sup>2</sup> (the latest date for which data are available)
was a) 4,832 for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) <sup>3</sup>, (b) 23,134 for
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) <sup>4</sup> and (c) 7,013 for Universal Credit
(UC) <sup>5</sup>.</p><p>(3) After a number of successful tests, arrangements are
currently being made to introduce and make available Cloud Video Platform (CVP) hearings
in all SSCS Tribunal regions. The decision as to how a hearing is conducted is a matter
for the judge who will determine how best to uphold the interests of justice. In considering
the suitability of video/audio, judges will consider issues such as the benefit type
under appeal, the nature of the matters at stake during the hearing and any issues
the use of video/audio technology may present for participants in the hearing.</p><p>
</p><p><sup>1 </sup>The ready to list status could include those appeals where an
earlier hearing had been adjourned (which may be directed by the judge for a variety
of reasons, such as to seek further evidence), or after an earlier hearing date had
been postponed (again, for a variety of reasons, often at the request of the appellant).
An appeal may also have been decided at an earlier date by the First-tier Tribunal,
only for the case to have gone on to the Upper Tribunal, to be returned once again
to the First-tier for its final disposal.</p><p><sup>2 </sup>Latest data available
in line with published statistics.</p><p><sup>3</sup> Includes Employment Support
Allowance and Employment Support Allowance (Reassessments).</p><p><sup>4</sup> Personal
Independence Payment (New Claim Appeals) which replaces Disability Living Allowance
was introduced on 8 April 2013, also includes Personal Independence Clams (Reassessments).</p><p><sup>5</sup>
Universal Credit was introduced on 29 April 2013 in selected areas of Greater Manchester
and Cheshire, and has been gradually rolled out to the rest of the UK from October
2013.</p><p>Although care is taken when processing and analysing these data, the details
are subject to inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale case management system and
are the best data that are available. The data may differ slightly to that of the
published statistics where data were run on a different date.</p>
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