Special Educational Needs: Appeals
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the longest recorded waiting time from lodgement to disposal for special educational needs and disability appeals in the First-tier Tribunal (Health, Education and Social Care Chamber) was in each financial year from 2021-22 to the most recent financial year for which data is held.
Answered by Sarah Sackman
The outstanding Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) appeals in the First-tier Tribunal (Health, Education and Social Care Chamber) (HESC) include both appeals which have been listed and those which have not been listed and are awaiting a hearing.
The table below shows the total number of SEND appeals which were outstanding, broken down by those which have been listed and those which have not, and are therefore waiting a hearing in each month from July 2024 to March 2026 (the latest period for which data are available)
Month | Total Open Caseload | Outstanding Cases Listed Hearings | Outstanding Cases Not Listed Awaiting Hearing |
Jul-24 | 9,431 | 1,546 | 7,885 |
Aug-24 | 10,116 | 896 | 9,220 |
Sep-24 | 10,526 | 1,145 | 9,381 |
Oct-24 | 10,873 | 1,201 | 9,672 |
Nov-24 | 11,248 | 1,283 | 9,965 |
Dec-24 | 11,264 | 985 | 10,279 |
Jan-25 | 11,084 | 1,110 | 9,974 |
Feb-25 | 11,597 | 552 | 11,045 |
Mar-25 | 12,060 | 446 | 11,614 |
Apr-25 | 12,798 | 983 | 11,815 |
May-25 | 13,580 | 1,244 | 12,336 |
Jun-25 | 14,028 | 1,665 | 12,363 |
Jul-25 | 23,980 | 1,768 | 22,212 |
Aug-25 | 14,251 | 1,355 | 12,896 |
Sep-25 | 15,187 | 1,285 | 13,902 |
Oct-25 | 15,147 | 2,181 | 12,966 |
Nov-25 | 15,511 | 1,039 | 14,472 |
Dec-25 | 15,997 | 1,166 | 14,831 |
Jan-26 | 16,216 | 1,733 | 14,483 |
Feb-26 | 16,520 | 1,854 | 14,666 |
Mar-26 | 17,260 | 2,349 | 14,911 |
The data has been taken from the local management information system. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the data, the details are subject to inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale case management system and is the best data that is available.
The table below shows the total number of SEND appeals (a) registered and (b) disposed of in HESC in each financial year from 2021-22, broken down by (i) allowed, (ii) dismissed, (iii) withdrawn and (iv) conceded by local authority before hearing.
Financial Year | Registered | Decided | Allowed | Dismissed | Conceded | Withdrawn |
21/22 | 9,839 | 5,310 | 5,127 | 183 | 2,148 | 896 |
22/23 | 13,187 | 6,955 | 6,778 | 177 | 2,527 | 1,095 |
23/24 | 17,148 | 9,265 | 9,124 | 141 | 3,313 | 1,591 |
24/25 | 23,351 | 13,046 | 12,905 | 141 | 4,046 | 1,717 |
25/26 | 28,844 | 16,212 | 16,090 | 122 | 3,878 | 2,006 |
The data has been taken from the local management information system with financial year set as April to March. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the data, the details are subject to inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale case management system and is the best data that is available. For this reason, the appeals shown in the above table may not match published totals.
Data on the waiting time between appeal lodgement and first hearing and lodgement to final disposal for SEND appeals is not recorded by the Tribunal, which would mean data on the longest waiting time and average waiting time could only be provided at disproportionate costs.
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