§ Mr. Ian McCartneyTo ask the President of the Board of Trade how many cases, by region, are waiting to be heard in industrial tribunals in England and Wales; and how long his Department estimates it will take to clear this backlog in each case. [32020]
Mr. John M. TaylorThe number of cases awaiting hearing by region at April 1996 is set out in table 1. The industrial tribunals work to a performance target of 80 per cent. of cases to be heard within 26 weeks of being registered. Performance against this target by region for the first quarter of 1996 is shown in table 2. The two London regions remain below target but have made good progress, following measures taken to reduce delays, and this is expected to continue.
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Table 1: Cases awaiting hearing (April 1996) Region Awaiting hearing London South 1,535 Bedford 873 Birmingham 995 Bristol 490 Cardiff 763 Leeds 1,033 Manchester 2,138 Newcastle 410 Nottingham 963 Southampton 1,228 London North and Stratford 3,097
Table 2: Performance against target (January to March 1996) Region Hearing target 80 per cent. within 26 weeks London South 70 Bedford 88 Birmingham 83 Bristol 95 Cardiff 81 Leeds 93 Manchester 81 Newcastle 97 Nottingham 85 Southampton 82 London North and Stratford 59