...or have I got some extremely pedantic staff at the appeals service, or whatever they're called now. The last three appeals that I've put in I've said "not less than 14 days notice" and each time they've given me 15 days notice. Are they having a laugh?

Well ive just had 3 DLA appeals listed for the same day if that makes you feel any better? 7 appeals in one week, the same week that i return from holiday! oh joy.

We're getting a good 6-8 weeks notice of hearings at the moment.

Last time I went to a tribunal users forum in Liverpool, I asked why they were listing appeals at much shorter notice than usual: we used to get 10-12 weeks between getting the appeal papers and getting a hearing date, now it's 3-4 weeks. They said that since the new decision-making procedure came in for DLA claims, which gives claimants reasons why the claim has been refused, they are getting far fewer DLA appeals and so a smaller workload. As a result, they can list all appeals a lot faster.
It could be the same thing has happened in your region.