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Waiting times: PIP appeals at Sutton, and emails to contactsscs
It may be of general interest for colleagues to know that as at today the waiting time for a PIP appeal being dealt with by Sutton is 24 weeks, and the waiting time for processing an email sent to contactsscs is 6 weeks.
and the waiting time for processing an email sent to contactsscs is 6 weeks
Another reason why I’m reluctant to stop sending emails to our local HMCTS office rather than the centralised contactsscs email address…
Lodged a complaint with the local HMCTS office at the start of October 2022 about a case which has been ready for listing since 2022. Received an auto-acknowledgement and since then… nothing.
Feel like I now occupy some netherworld where every single solution to the most mundane of administration issues no longer works or exists.
Like others I have complaints in to UC about their failure to address a previous formal complaint.
The Thick Of It turns out to have been a documentary.
Lodged a complaint with the local HMCTS office at the start of October 2022 about a case which has been ready for listing since 2022. Received an auto-acknowledgement and since then… nothing.
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Assuming you meant 2020, have you not asked for a judicial direction that the case is listed? Listing is ultimately a judicial rather than an administrative function, within the resources made available by the Lord Chancellor.
What I actually meant was “... since February 2022”. 8 month wait outrageous in the circumstances. Appellant increasingly distressed about something hanging over their head which simply doesn’t need to.
And yes, judicial direction requested long ago. Wholly ignored and thus the complaint. There appears to be insufficient clerks available to perform the basic functions of HMCTS though so we’re at the point where it doesn’t really matter what you’re asking because there’s no-one there to process the request regardless of what it is.
Maybe complain to the regional judge or the Chamber President that HMCTS are failing to process, and thus in effect obstructing, a perfectly legitimate request for a direction? Or a pre-action protocol letter to MoJ lawyers, making the same point?
Yes I have considered that Paul but it’s the same issue. I could address something to my regional judge but they’re not opening their own post. That requires a clerk. If there isn’t a clerk or a PA then you’re just back in the same place. I think your latter suggestion is probably the better option. Anything that goes through local HMCTS is essentially entering a void. That then has to be balanced against the time allocated to cases etc. It’s hard to find a case at present which doesn’t spiral into a complaint etc. because of basic administrative failure.