What percentage of sanctions are actually appealed?

It’s on stat-xplore on dwp.gov.uk but you need to register

https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk

DManville - 04 April 2014 12:22 PM

It’s on stat-xplore on dwp.gov.uk but you need to register

https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk

and I had promised myself I would have a play with this… See spreadsheet below

Sadly it won’t put the decision outcome in the same table as the reconsidered/appealed sheet.

Thank you DManville.  I have to admit I am still trying to get my head round those stats.  It appears they have randomised the categories column which is a little bewildering.  Using the average of appeals over original in the lower level sanctions gives an average of less than 1% actually appealed.  This is astonishingly low.

The second spreadsheet figures (outcomes) don’t add up across the rows.

AidanG - 04 April 2014 02:13 PM

Thank you DManville.  I have to admit I am still trying to get my head round those stats.  It appears they have randomised the categories column which is a little bewildering.  Using the average of appeals over original in the lower level sanctions gives an average of less than 1% actually appealed.  This is astonishingly low.

The second spreadsheet figures (outcomes) don’t add up across the rows.

I don’t intend to try to work them out however I played with the ESA stats too and the proportion of decisions challenged looked to be significantly higher which is probably what’s pushed the average reported to the heady heights of 2%.

You’re right; it is astonishingly low, a lot of people; especially with the low level sanctions, I suspect just suck it up, not appreciating that an appeal is an important tool both for activism’s sake as well as to hopefully get their money back.

But where’s the incentive? By the time the appeal’s come round they’ve got their award back in most cases and mitigated the direct effects of the sanction; I wonder how many people actually attend appeal hearings or let their case get struck out at enquiry form stage.

I wonder too, about the number of clients that are “gatekept” from the chance to get an independent body to look at their case.  I feel many clients accept the MR phone call route as the only answer they are going to get.

I think even less people challenge adverse hardship decisions.

I spoke to a JSA DM yesterday, who was amazed that we don’t deal with lots of JSA sanction appeals - I said that most of the sanctions handed out were probably to young single people, which he agreed was the case. As above,  I think most just claim local welfare assistance and hardship payments to deal with any fall out from the decisions, rather than look to a long, drawn out appeal process.