§ Ms LynneTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many appeals which have been lodged with a child support appeal tribunal are currently pending; what is the average length of time between the lodging of an appeal to a child support appeal tribunal and its hearing; and in how many cases the child support officer's decision has been upheld. [8793]
§ Mr. Andrew MitchellAt the end of November 1996, there were 4,227 appeals pending with a child support appeal tribunal of which 524 had already been listed for a future session. The average length of time between lodgement and first hearing was 26 weeks. During November, 466 cases were determined: in 84 cases the child support officer's decision was upheld.