Written questions by Cooper.

How many appellants are waiting for First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support) appeals to be listed for personal independence payment in (a) Mid Cheshire constituency, (b) Cheshire and (c) England.

Information about appeals to the First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support) (SSCS) is published at: www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics. The average waiting times data requested can be found under “Tribunal Statistics CSV files”.The information requested about the number of appellants waiting for appeals to be listed is not held centrally.HMCTS cannot isolate the number of appellants waiting for their appeal to be listed, as opposed to the number of appeals waiting to be listed. An appellant may have more than one appeal waiting to be listed:  appeals can be made against (amongst other things) initial decisions on entitlement to Personal Independence Payment (PIP), overpayments, or period of time for which PIP has been awarded, for which separate appeals can be lodged.

What the average length of time was for a First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support) appeal for (a) personal independence payment and (b) universal credit in (i) Mid Cheshire constituency, (ii) Cheshire and (iii) England in each of the last five years.

Information about appeals to the First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support) (SSCS) is published at: www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics. The average waiting times data requested can be found under “Tribunal Statistics CSV files”.The information requested about the number of appellants waiting for appeals to be listed is not held centrally.HMCTS cannot isolate the number of appellants waiting for their appeal to be listed, as opposed to the number of appeals waiting to be listed. An appellant may have more than one appeal waiting to be listed:  appeals can be made against (amongst other things) initial decisions on entitlement to Personal Independence Payment (PIP), overpayments, or period of time for which PIP has been awarded, for which separate appeals can be lodged.

What proportion of appeals to the tribunals service in (a) Mid Cheshire constituency, (b) Cheshire and (c) England which related to (i) personal independence payments and (ii) universal credit were successful in (A) the most recent period for which figures are available and (B) each of the last five years.

Information about appeals to the First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support) (SSCS) is published at: www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics.The data requested can be found under “Tribunal Statistics CSV files”.

What assessment she has made of trends in the levels of reoffending rates in (a) Mid Cheshire constituency, (b) Cheshire and (c) England in each of the last five years; and what steps her Department is taking to help reduce reoffending rates in those areas.

The overall proven reoffending rate for England has decreased from 29.1% in 2017/18 to 25.0% in 2021/22 (the latest year for which reoffending data is available – see Table 1).The overall proven reoffending rate for Cheshire has decreased from 29.6% in 2017/18 to 27.5% in 2021/22 (the latest year for which reoffending data is available – see Table 1).We do not currently hold reoffending data broken down by parliamentary constituency. Table 1: Rate of reoffending for the regions of Cheshire, and England, across the past 5 yearsRegionApr 2017- Mar 2018Apr 2018 - Mar 2019Apr 2019 - Mar 2020Apr 2020 - Mar 2021Apr 2021 - Mar 2022Cheshire29.6%27.8%26.5%25.7%27.5%England29.1%27.9%25.4%24.1%25.0% This Government is committed to reducing reoffending by giving people the tools they need to turn their backs on crime. To do that, we will increase prisoners’ access to purposeful activity, including education and employment, which we know can reduce reoffending by up to 9 percentage points. For example, we have recruited specialist education and employment roles in prisons to support and prepare prisoners for work on release, including Prison Employment Leads who match prisoners to jobs. Prison Employment Leads are currently in place at HMP Risley, HMP Styal and HMP Thorn Cross, three prisons located in Cheshire.

What estimate she has made of the number of victims of domestic violence who have withdrawn their cases due to court delays in each of the last five years.

It is not possible to separately identify cases of domestic violence, which will be recorded under the specific offences for which they are prosecuted, for example, intentional strangulation or suffocation.Victims and survivors of domestic abuse also may choose to withdraw their cases for a number of reasons (for example, personal reasons).This Government inherited record and rising court backlogs which have seen too many victims waiting far too long for justice. We are committed to bearing down on the caseload backlog to speed up the delivery of justice for all victims.Timely and effective justice is key to increasing the confidence of victims and survivors in the justice system. Strengthening the justice system response to domestic abuse and increasing victim confidence are crucial to achieving this Government’s ambitious commitment to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) this decade.

What the average time was for a domestic violence case to be heard in court in (a) Mid Cheshire constituency, (b) Cheshire and (c) England in each of the last five years.

It is not possible to separately identify cases of domestic violence, which will be recorded under the specific offences for which they are prosecuted, for example, co intentional strangulation or suffocation.This Government inherited a record and rising court backlog which have seen too many victims waiting far too long for justice. We are committed to bearing down on the caseload to speed up the delivery of justice for all victims.Timely and effective justice is key to increasing the confidence of victims and survivors in the justice system. Strengthening the justice system response to domestic abuse and increasing victim confidence are crucial to achieving this Government’s ambitious commitment to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) this decade.

What steps she is taking with the Attorney General to speed up the justice system for victims of domestic violence.

This Government inherited a record and rising court backlogs which have seen too many victims waiting far too long for justice.We are committed to bearing down on the court backlog to speed up the delivery of justice.Timely and effective justice is key to increasing the confidence of victims and survivors in the justice system. Strengthening the justice system response to domestic abuse and increasing victim confidence are crucial to achieving this Government’s ambitious commitment to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) this decade.The decision on when and where a case is listed is the responsibility of the independent judiciary, although judges do look to prioritise cases involving vulnerable complainants and witnesses, such as victims and survivors of domestic abuse, wherever possible.In addition, CPS, NPCC and College of Policing’s Joint Justice Plan aims to transform how the police and the CPS investigate and prosecute domestic abuse cases, including a commitment to improve the timelessness and effectiveness of investigating and charging in domestic abuse cases. I look forward to the publication of this plan in November.