Administrative Justice Council sets up working groups to tackle tribunal backlogs and data collection

The AJC said the group will examine “the causes of backlogs, their impact on users, and potential solutions” across the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND), Immigration and Asylum Chamber (IAC) and Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) jurisdictions.

Read the EoI information (PDF) to find out what the role entails, and how to apply.

This reveals that the three jurisdictions currently have the largest backlogs in administrative tribunals. “For example, in SSCS, the outstanding caseload as of December 2025 was 99,324, while cases in the SEND tribunal have tripled in five years.”

Reducing tribunal backlogs is said to be a key priority for the Senior President of Tribunals and Chair of the AJC, Lord Justice Dingemans.

This working group, which will be chaired by Lucy Scott-Moncrieff, will meet every two months over an estimated 12–18-month period.

It will produce a final paper setting out the causes, impacts and potential solutions to tribunal backlogs for presentation to the Ministry of Justice, HMCTS and the Senior President of Tribunals.

The AJC has meanwhile invited expressions of interest for another working group that will examine data collection, sharing and interpretation in the administrative justice system.

It said this working group, chaired by Judge John Keith, will “map currently available data and promote better collection and transparency of data across the administrative justice system”.

Read the EoI information (PDF) for this working group.

“The availability of data is a key priority for the AJC. Better data collection and sharing enable more effective monitoring and analysis of performance across the system. This supports the identification of systemic problems, informs best practice and helps improve different parts of the system. It also promotes a joined-up approach, allowing departments and organisations to share data to improve ways of working,” it says.

The deadline for applications for both expressions of interest is Wednesday 10 June 2026.