Written questions by Costigan.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of reimbursing the legal fees of claimants whose tribunal proceedings have been adjourned as a result of an unavailability of court resources.

The management and listing of tribunal cases, and decisions on whether to reimburse the legal fees of a party in individual cases, are functions of the independent judiciary.​Although orders for costs are not generally made in tribunal proceedings, tribunal procedure rules do provide for the tribunal to award costs in certain circumstances, for example where a party, or their legal representative, has conducted the litigation unreasonably.HMCTS works closely with the judiciary to actively manage the progression of cases through the tribunal system. Legal officers regularly review the live caseload to ensure that tribunal cases are progressed in accordance with the directions of the tribunal so that they are ready to be heard when listed.HMCTS continues to invest in improving tribunal productivity through the recruitment of additional Judges, deployment of Legal Officers to actively manage cases, the development of modern case management systems and the use of remote hearing technology.

If she will make an assessment of the adequacy of measures to prevent parties from adjourning tribunal hearings without valid cause.

The management and listing of tribunal cases, and decisions on whether to reimburse the legal fees of a party in individual cases, are functions of the independent judiciary.​Although orders for costs are not generally made in tribunal proceedings, tribunal procedure rules do provide for the tribunal to award costs in certain circumstances, for example where a party, or their legal representative, has conducted the litigation unreasonably.HMCTS works closely with the judiciary to actively manage the progression of cases through the tribunal system. Legal officers regularly review the live caseload to ensure that tribunal cases are progressed in accordance with the directions of the tribunal so that they are ready to be heard when listed.HMCTS continues to invest in improving tribunal productivity through the recruitment of additional Judges, deployment of Legal Officers to actively manage cases, the development of modern case management systems and the use of remote hearing technology.

If she will review the effectiveness of the mechanisms in place to ensure parties in tribunal cases comply with information requests in a timely manner.

The management and listing of tribunal cases, and decisions on whether to reimburse the legal fees of a party in individual cases, are functions of the independent judiciary.​Although orders for costs are not generally made in tribunal proceedings, tribunal procedure rules do provide for the tribunal to award costs in certain circumstances, for example where a party, or their legal representative, has conducted the litigation unreasonably.HMCTS works closely with the judiciary to actively manage the progression of cases through the tribunal system. Legal officers regularly review the live caseload to ensure that tribunal cases are progressed in accordance with the directions of the tribunal so that they are ready to be heard when listed.HMCTS continues to invest in improving tribunal productivity through the recruitment of additional Judges, deployment of Legal Officers to actively manage cases, the development of modern case management systems and the use of remote hearing technology.

What steps she is taking to reduce the backlog of tribunal cases.

We are working to reduce the outstanding caseload in the First-tier Tribunal, the Upper Tribunal, the Employment Tribunal and the Employment Appeal Tribunal. Reducing outstanding caseloads is the key measure to bringing down the waiting times for tribunal hearings. HMCTS continues to invest in improving tribunal productivity through the recruitment of additional Judges, deployment of Legal Officers to actively manage cases, the development of modern case management systems and the use of remote hearing technology. Data on Tribunals performance is published by the Ministry of Justice on a quarterly basis. Receipts, disposals and the outstanding caseload for individual Chambers in the First-tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal, the Employment Tribunal and the Employment Appeal Tribunal can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics.