Poking around in Hansard can produce some interesting notes at times. On 4th May 2011, Chuka Umunna (MP for Streatham, Labour) asked the Secretary of State for some information on First Tier Tax Tribunal statistics. Jonathan Djanogly (MP for Huntingdon, Cons.; Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (HM Courts Service and Legal Aid)) came up with the following for tax appeals received – figures updated with information from the Tribunals Statistics document for the year ended 31 March 2011:
- 2004-5: 4,110
- 2005-6: 3,190
- 2006-7: 3,800
- 2007-8: 4,160
- 2008-9: 5,620
- 2009-10: 10,400
- 2010-11: 8,900*
No explanation was given for the doubling of appeals in 2009-10 compared to previously years, but the figures pre-2009 might be taken with a substantial pinch of salt. The Hansard transcript indicates that the pre-2009 numbers cover the former VAT and Duties Tribunal and the Special Commissioners – but the First Tier Tax Tribunal covers the cases heard by the former VAT and Duties Tribunal, the Special Commissioners and the General Commissioners. The other 4,000 or so cases in 2009-10 onwards may represent cases which would previously have been to the General Commissioners and so not counted in the pre-2009 figures.
There’s also no information as the success rates – the database doesn’t record the information, apparently. The Tribunals Service Statistics for 2010-11 indicate that the number of appeals actually heard was:
- 2008-9: 3,780
- 2009-10: 5,600
- 2010-11: 6,100
It’s no particular wonder that it’s taking more and more time for cases to be heard. Given that the First Tier Tribunal now includes cases that would have gone to the General Commissioners, the increase in cases heard seems nothing like enough compared to the 2008-9 figures which covered only the VAT and Duties Tribunal and the Special Commissioners. As a result, the number of cases outstanding at the end of each year (at 31 March) was:
- 2008-9: 9,540 (after 1,210 judicial sitting days in the year)
- 2009-10: 13,500 (after 1,800 judicial sitting days in the year)
- 2010-11: 17,600 (after 3,000 judicial sitting days in the year)
The rate at which cases are heard has been:
- 2008-9: Special Commissioners – 73% of cases dealt with within 50 weeks of receipt
- 2008-9: VAT and Duties Tribunal – 54% of Category 2 cases dealt with within 90 weeks of receipt; 82% of Category 1 and 3 cases dealt with within 35 weeks of receipt
- 2009-10: First Tier Tax Tribunal – 42% of standard/complex track cases dealt with within 70 weeks of receipt (no figures for other tracks)
- 2010-11: First Tier Tax Tribunal – 58% of standard/complex track cases dealt with within 70 weeks of receipt; 73% of paper track cases dealt with within 20 weeks; 74% of basic track cases dealt with within 20 weeks of receipt
Figures for the Upper Tribunal tax cases can’t be untangled from the general Upper Tribunal figures, as far as I can tell.
* The Hansard report has a figure of 9,000 cases for the first three quarters of 2010-11, but the final Tribunal Statistics for the year have 8,900 for the full year. I’ve assumed that the Tribunals Services figures are more likely to be accurate.
Thanks to @reedmj for the idea for this article and additional source material.
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Tags: appeals, statistics, tribunal, uk