HC Deb 30 June 1992 vol 210 cc541-3W
Mr. Janner

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment of successful unfair dismissal claims during each of the last five years for which records are available, how many and what percentage in each category of claim resulted in monetary awards and in recommendations for reinstatement or re-engagement, respectively; of the monetary awards, what was the maximum and the average thereof; and of recommendations for re-engagement or reinstatement, how many and what percentage were complied with.

Mr. McLoughlin

I regret that the information on monetary awards and reinstatement and re-engagement orders is not available in precisely the form requested. The tables show the number of cases where a monetary award was made and the median award for each financial year. We have no information on the total number of reinstatement or re-engagement orders which were complied with, but the information available on the number of additional awards made where an employer has not complied is given.

Monetary awards: all unfair dismissal cases
Year Number Percentage of cases proceeding to hearing Median award £
1990–91 1,290 21.3 1,773
1989–90 1,310 22.3 1,786
1988–89 1,272 22.0 1,732
1987–88 1,352 18.4 1,865
1986–87 2,277 24.5 1,676

Reinstatement/Re-engagement Orders: all unfair dismissal cases
Year Number of reinstatement/ re-engagement orders Percentage of cases proceeding to hearing Number of additional awards
1990–91 63 1.0 35
1989–90 59 1.0 n.a.
1988–89 58 1.0 n.a.
1987–88 83 1.1 n.a.
1986–87 103 1.1 n.a.

Mr. Janner

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many additional awards for failure to comply with recommendations for re-engagement or reinstatement following successful unfair dismissal claims were made during each of the last five years for which records are available.

Mr. McLoughlin

I regret that the information requested is not available prior to the financial year 1990–91. In the year 1990–91, industrial tribunals made 35 additional awards.

Mr. Cryer

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will list(a) the current number of appeals for unfair dismissal in each district in the United Kingdom, (b) the length of waiting-time prior to appeals being heard and (c) the staff in full-time equivalent employed in each employment office; and if she will make a statement.

Mr. McLoughlin

[holding answer 29 June 1992]: I am replying in respect of Great Britain only. Questions relating to Northern Ireland are for my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. I regret that the information is not available in the form requested. The figures in the first table relate to the number of cases which are ready for listing, or which have been listed for hearing, for all jurisdictions for each of the regional offices of the industrial tribunals in England and Wales and for Scotland as a whole. I regret that figures are not available for cases which have not reached that stage. Nor are separate figures available for unfair dismissal, but in general some 60 per cent. of applications to industrial tribunals are in respect of unfair dismissal. The figures for Scotland in the two other tables cover both the central office in Glasgow and local offices.

Cases listed/ready for listing
Number
England and Wales
Birmingham 1,795
Bristol 385
Bury St. Edmunds 1,390
Cardiff 569
Leeds 1,314
London North 1,453
London South 1,823
Manchester 2,082
Newcastle 529
Nottingham 1,272
Southampton 1,335
Scotland 2,546

Length of time for registered applications to come to first hearing
Percentage under (weeks)
6 8 10 12 16 20 26
England and Wales
Birmingham 0 0 0 0 3 17 34
Bristol 5 18 42 54 72 83 92
Bury St. Edmunds 0 0 2 3 9 27 61
Cardiff 0 0 7 16 23 49 68
Leeds 2 3 4 6 50 71 89
London North 1 2 3 4 14 26 43
London South 1 1 1 1 9 32 56
Manchester 0 3 5 11 14 20 53
Newcastle 0 0 2 3 15 36 66
Nottingham 0 3 3 6 10 16 5
Southampton 0 2 6 11 30 53 81
Scotland
Aberdeen 0 0 0 0 0 50 58
Dumfries 0 0 0 0 33 78 89
Dundee 0 0 0 5 8 30 93
Edinburgh 0 0 0 0 14 75 89
Glasgow 1 1 3 9 63 85 92
Inverness 0 0 0 29 57 57 71

Administrative staff in post at 31 May 1992
Number
England and Wales
Birmingham 33.0
Bristol 21.0
Bury St. Edmunds 20.0
Cardiff 22.5
Leeds 32.0
London North 39.0
London South 54.5
Manchester 48.0
Newcastle 20.5
Nottingham 19.5
Southampton 22.5
Scotland
Aberdeen 3.3
Dundee 3.1
Edinburgh 5.5
Glasgow 128.9
1 Including headquarters staff.

Note:

The hearing centres at Dumfries and Inverness are staffed from the Glasgow and Aberdeen offices.