KDR seeks always to use our slim resources in the best way we can. We are currently devoting staff time to a tribunals review committee looking at how efficiency can be improved so that large and growing back-logs can be reduced.
Our tribunals system is a precious ingredient of our democracy. It means that whenever a citizen is denied a Social Security benefit by DWP officials they can appeal to an independent legally constituted tribunal. That is a vital safeguard.
In the current climate it is perhaps unsurprising that the system has become overloaded. So unfortunately decisions are sometimes not as good as they could be. And when people have waited a very long time for such a decision, it is a big double whammy.
We hope that by contributing our expertise at the sharp end of all this we will be able to make a helpful contribution such as the situation improves.
More information here, although please note the information has not been updated with details of the Tribunals Backlogs Working Group we have joined: https://www.judiciary.uk/related-offices-and-bodies/advisory-bodies/administrative-justice-council/working-groups/