§ Mr. WhittingdaleTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many cases were heard by employment tribunals in each of the last 10 years. [16656]
§ Ms HewittThe table shows the information requested.
Number of cases heard by employment tribunals 1991–20011 Year Number 1991–92 13,778 1992–93 17,836 1993–94 23,327 1994–95 21,749 1995–96 21,484 1996–97 2— 1997–98 20,067 1998–99 20,924 1999–2000 21,049 2000–01 25,106 1 Defined as a case which was either successful or dismissed at a hearing (either for being out of scope or other reasons). 2 Due to changes to the ETS database of case records, no statistical information is available for this period. Note:
Cases with multiple jurisdictions are only counted once.
Source:
Employment Tribunals Service
§ Mr. WhittingdaleTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many cases are awaiting a hearing before an employment tribunal. [16655]
308W
§ Ms HewittDue to the different ways in which tribunal applications proceed through the system, it is not possible to determine at any one time how many cases are waiting for a hearing date.
§ Mr. WhittingdaleTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the average time before a case is heard by an employment tribunal over the last 12 months. [16635]
§ Ms HewittThe Employment Tribunals Service, the government agency that provides the administrative support to the Employment Tribunals, seeks to ensure that 75 per cent. of single tribunal applications reach a first hearing within 26 weeks of receipt. However, due to the complexity of individual cases and the need to ensure proper judicial consideration it is not possible to ensure specific periods of time are achieved in individual cases if justice is to be done.
In previous years, the ETS target was 85 per cent. and this was exceeded in 1998–99 and 1999–2000. The ETS achieved 77 per cent. in 2000–01.