News

5 July 2010

The number of employment and support allowance (ESA) appeals being lodged has skyrocketed in the last year, new statistics released by the tribunals service reveal.

In April to June of 2009 there were 10,100 ESA appeals.  In the next quarter this had risen to 29,000 and by January to March of 2010 this had risen to an astonishing 46,500 appeals.  So, in the space of a year the number of ESA appeals has more than quadrupled.

By comparison attendance allowance and disability living allowance appeals combined rose from 16,700 to 21,200 in the same period.

The success rate for ESA appeals continues to hover around the 40% mark for appeals that actually go to hearing.  

However, thousands of cases are listed by the tribunals service as being ‘disposed of otherwise’ which means that they were either settled or struck out prior to the hearing.  As far as we are aware, a relatively small number of appeals are struck out.  This may mean that the number of people succeeding in their ESA appeal is actually significantly higher, if the DWP are ‘settling’ by awarding ESA prior to hearings in a significant number of cases.

The tribunals service statistics are available from this link