§ Ian LucasTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of appeals against refusal of incapacity benefit were settled in favour of the claimant in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [127056]
§ Maria EagleInformation on IB appeals is only available from 2000.
The available information is in the table.
There are a number of reasons for decisions being overturned at appeal; for example, additional evidence may be given to a tribunal that was not available to the decision maker. The Department is currently working on a number of initiatives to improve liaison with the Appeals Service and gain a better understanding of these issues.
Number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance Month Taunton Deane Local Authority Area County of Somerset October 2001 752 3,853 January 2002 782 4,533 April 2002 793 4,082 July 2002 734 3,731 October 2002 693 3,641 January 2003 822 4,393 April 2003 784 4,037 July 2003 762 3,785 Source:
JSAPBS
Notes:
1. Figures are based on a 100 per cent count of unemployment-related benefits, including clerically held cases.
2. Somerset figures exclude Unitary Authorities within the ceremonial boundary of Somerset, namely "Bath and North East Somerset" and "North Somerset".
343W3. The number of Jobseeker"s Allowance claimants are normally counted on the second Thursday of a month. For example, April 2003 claimant figures represent the number of claimants at the end of business on Thursday 10 April.