The AJTC: A Proactive and Principled Approach

Welcome to this historic edition of Adjust, the first since implementation of the initial stages of a unified two-tier tribunal service structure on 3 November 2008 (T1 day).

This development provided a dramatic backdrop to the AJTC's ninth Annual Conference held on 18 November 2008. The current and prospective changes under the Tribunals Courts and Enforcement Act resonated with speakers and participants alike.

For the AJTC, the conference was an opportunity to demonstrate the ways in which we have changed our ways of working from a relatively reactive role to a more visible role helping to shape the administrative justice landscape.

The Rt Hon. Lord Newton of Braintree,
Chair AJTC (pdf, 0.1MB)

"We shall constantly keep in mind that the 'system', such as it is, is there for the benefit of its users, and not the other way round. Indeed, the AJTC's overarching strategic objective is to focus first and foremost on the needs of users."

The Rt Hon. Lord Justice Carnwath,
Senior President of Tribunals (pdf, 0.1MB)

"...I believe that we will develop a flexible and co-operative relationship with decision-makers and with all the other agencies involved, including ombudsmen and the upper courts, and the AJTC, so that together we can provide, in Leggatt's words, 'a service fit for our users'."

The Rt Hon. Lord Philip,
formerly Judge of the Court of Session (Inner House)

Lord Philip spoke about the Administrative Justice Steering Group review of the organisation and administration of tribunals in Scotland.

Hugh Rawlings,
Director, Constitutional Affairs, Equality and Communication Department, Welsh Assembly Government (pdf, 0.1MB)

"The existence of the [AJTC Welsh] Committee, together with the new office of Public Services Ombudsman for Wales ... gives us the chance to look afresh at the picture of administrative justice in Wales..."

Siobhan Broderick,
Head of Tribunal Reform, Northern Ireland Court Service (pdf, 0.1MB)

"Today the First Minister and deputy First Minister have made a statement that an agreement has been reached on how this second stage (of the legal reform process) will take place...This provides an opportunity for us to assume statutory responsibility for tribunals as well as courts..."

Bridget Prentice,
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (pdf, 0.1MB)

"Bringing individual tribunals into a single integrated system are at the heart of the most radical change to the tribunal system in 50 years. This truly modern and unified service will help people to find their way around the system and get solutions to their issues more quickly and efficiently."

Developing Administrative Justice Research Paper (pdf, 1.4MB)

"The publication 'Developing Administrative Justice Research' provides an introduction to our agenda and aspirations; a description of the research landscape; a recognition of existing problems in funding and capacity; and an outline of the AJTC's future contribution." – Professor Genevra Richardson, Member of AJTC

The Rt Hon Sir Henry Brooke,
formerly Vice-president, Court of Appeal (Civil Division) (pdf, 0.2MB)

"Many disputes between the citizen and the state are by their very nature not suited to a mediated settlement... the challenge to the Council [AJTC] over the next ten years is to proselytise about the [many] PDR techniques that are available, to watch what is going on and ensure that appropriate evaluative techniques are being used, and to advise on 'what works' and 'what doesn't work' in different factual contexts and different specialist fields."

Future Strategic Work of the AJTC

"In 2009 the AJTC plans to publish two Scoping Papers; one on Developing Generally Applicable Principles of Administrative Justice and another on the Administrative Justice Landscape; and to consult stakeholders about how best to take the work on principles forward." – Jonathan Spencer and Brian Thompson, Members of AJTC

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Mental Health Features

Feature: Penny Letts
The AJTC's Stakeholder Advisory Group on the Mental Health Review Tribunal (pdf, 0.1MB)

AJTC Member, Penny Letts, outlines the role, work and future challenges of the AJTC's stakeholder group on the Mental Health Review Tribunal (now called the First-tier (Mental Health) Tribunal, part of the new Health, Education and Social Care Chamber).

The AJTC is keen to hear about any issues affecting the operation of the tribunal as we will raise them at future MHRT Stakeholder Group meetings.

Feature: Sarah Gane
Mental Health: Taking the Tribunal Forward (pdf, 0.1MB)

Sarah Gane, head of the Secretariat of the First-tier Tribunal (Mental Health), outlines for Adjust the Tribunal's relocation to Leicester, where the aim has been to: improve customer service, get things right first time, raise the profile of the tribunal within the Tribunals Service, reduce the level of complaints and introduce a programme of improvements and efficiencies.

Opinion: Sheila Carrick
Legal Representation at MHRT's in South West England (pdf, 0.1MB)

Mental health lawyer Sheila Carrick discusses the implications of the fixed fee scheme for mental health review legal aid representation in the South West.

Research: Jorun Rugkåsa
The Oxford Community Treatment Order Evaluation Trial (pdf, 0.1MB)

Joran Rugkåsa, Research Fellow with the Department of Psychiatry at Oxford University, explains how a group of researchers are conducting Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs) to provide evidence of the efficacy of Community Treatment Orders. Mental health professionals have criticised the introduction of this treatment into many jurisdictions including the UK, in the absence of convincing scientific evidence.

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Research

Feature: Simon Halliday
Cultural Conceptions of Administrative Justice (pdf, 0.1MB)

In this article Simon Halliday of the University of Strathclyde & Colin Scott, University College Dublin, reports on research, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, to develop an ideal typology of administrative justice – an analytical framework which captures the variations in how 'administrative justice' might be conceived.

Nuffield Research –
Determination of Asylum Appeals

Dr Robert Thomas, School of Law, University of Manchester has been conducting research, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, into the procedure and determination of asylum appeals by the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (AIT).

His recently published paper 'Consistency in Asylum Adjudication: Country Guidance and the Asylum Process in the United Kingdom' (2008) 20 International Journal of Refugee Law 489-532 examines the development and operation of the AIT's country guidance system. This article may be found on the journal's website.

Study into Local Legal Advice Announced

The Ministry of Justice has announced a study into the funding and provision of local legal advice. The Government is keen to assess how recent legal aid reforms and any wider changes to the way in which local advice agencies are funded, have affected the provision of services. The aim is to identify, bring together and analyse the available evidence across England and Wales.

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Wales

Feature: Marie Navarro
Devolution and Welsh Law:
Wales Legislation Online (pdf, 0.1MB)

Marie Navarro outlines how the Government of Wales Act (GOWA) 2006 dramatically changed the nature of the powers and the law in Wales. She explains the 'Wales Legislation Online' service and the training she, along with others, provides on Welsh Legislation and the Welsh legislative process.

Feature: Bob Chapman
Consumer Focus Wales and the AJTC Welsh Committee – a personal view of the synergies... (pdf, 0.1MB)

Bob Chapman outlines the key synergies between the AJTC's Welsh Committee and Consumer Focus Wales of which he is a member and director respectively.

Consultation: School admissions, school admission appeals and associated regulations ( 0.6MB)

The Welsh Assembly Government is consulting on draft Codes for School Admissions and School Admission Appeals and draft amendment Regulations on admissions appeals. This consultation closes on 22 December 2008.

Local Government Measure Committee

The National Assembly has established a Local Government Measure Committee to consider and report on the general principles of the Welsh Assembly Government's proposed Local Government (Wales) Measure.

Committee Inquiry into the Progress of Local Service Board Pilots

The National Assembly Health, Wellbeing and Local Government Committee is conducting an inquiry into progress of the six Local Service Board (LSB) pilots in Wales.

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Scotland

Scottish Committee of the AJTC
Options for the Future Administration and Supervision of Tribunals in Scotland

Following the publication of the first stage report by Lord Philip in October the Scottish Committee will be holding a seminar at the Merchants Hall, Edinburgh on 12 January 2009. The seminar is being organised in order to provide a platform for informed discussion for those with an interest in the Scottish Tribunal landscape.

Further details of the Seminar can be obtained by contacting Debbie Davidson on 0131 271 4302.

The Commissioners' Office in Scotland

On the 3rd November 2008 the Office of the Commissioners' in Scotland became the Office of the Upper Tribunal Administrative Appeals Chamber in Scotland. The Chamber will continue to determine appeals on points of law from decisions of the Pensions Appeal Tribunal in Scotland in war pension cases, although the Pensions Appeal Tribunal in Scotland will sit outside the new two – tier Tribunals appellate structure. The Office will remain at George House, 126 George Street, Edinburgh.

Improving Public Service Scrutiny

Following the Scottish Governments' initial response to the Crerar Review, published in January 2008, the government made a commitment to report to Scottish Parliament on the direction of travel being taken to deliver change and improvement to the landscape of scrutiny and complaints handling of public services in Scotland.

The Future of Scottish Devolution within the Union: A First Report

The Commission on Scottish Devolution (or Calman Commission) published its first report on 2 December 2008.

Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act

This Act, passed by the Scottish Parliament in September, is designed to strengthen the relationships between the legislative, executive and judicial arms of government. The Act:

• guarantees continued judicial independence
• creates a Lord President with overall responsibility for the disposal of business in all courts and for the training, welfare, deployment and conduct of the judiciary
• introduces new governance arrangements for the Scottish Court Service, making it a non-Ministerial Department which will be run by a board with a judicial majority and chaired by the Lord President, placing the Scottish Court Service under a statutory obligation to take account of public and court users' needs

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Tribunals

T1-Day Implementation

On 3 November 2008, the government launched two new unified tribunals, consisting of a First-tier and an Upper Tribunal thereby bringing the Tribunals Service one step closer to realising Leggatt Report vision of a unified Tribunal system. These tribunals comprise:

• Three First-tier Chambers - Social Entitlement; Health, Education and Social Care; and the War Pensions & Armed Forces Compensation Chamber; and
• The Administrative Appeals Chamber of the Upper Tribunal.

The new Statutory Instruments establishing the First Tier and Upper Tribunals, together with the First Tier and Upper Tribunal rules are now available online.

The second phase of TCE Act implementation will occur progressively from April 2009. This phase will involve:

• The transfer and reform of the tax and duties tribunals;
• Lands moving into the Upper Tribunal; and
• Establishing the General Regulatory Chamber (comprising regulatory tribunals including the Estate Agent; Consumer Credit; Information; and Charities tribunals).

Senior President of Tribunals Second Implementation Report (pdf, 0.3MB)

Lord Justice Carnwath, the Senior President of Tribunals, has published his second report outlining progress towards reforming the Tribunals Service in accordance with the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007.

The Senior President is also required by statute to produce an Annual Report. Work has commenced, in consultation with the AJTC, to identify what the first report should cover. In the meantime, the Senior President will publish further implementation reviews, including one in early 2009, once more firm decisions about phase 2 of TCE Act implementation have been made.

Opinion: National Autistic Society Concerned about New SEN Tribunal Structure

The National Autistic Society has been seeking to ensure that the changes to SEN tribunals do not increase families' difficulties. They argue the lack of information made available about the new process has process has created confusion, anxiety and stress for families.

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Employment

Feature: Richard Dunstan
Justice Denied – Employment Tribunals (pdf, 0.1MB)

Richard Dunstan's report for Citizens Advice, 'Justice denied', was published on 14 October 2008. The report reveals that in ten percent of cases, employers fail to pay the compensation awarded to employees by the Employment Tribunal.

Following the 'Justice Denied' paper, Ian McCartney MP moved an amendment (NC14) to the Employment Bill, designed to address some of the issues raised in the report.

Disclosure of Employment Tribunal Case Information (pdf, 0.1MB)

The names and addresses of organisations involved in Employment Tribunal cases must be made public according to a new ruling under the Freedom of Information Act. The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) has been ordered to release this information given the strong public interest in its disclosure.

New Rules about Employment Tribunal Judges' Experience

New rules stipulating the experience required to become an employment judge at an Employment Tribunal came into force on 1 December 2008.

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Social Security

Feature: PIDMA
Delivering a first class service to Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and Attendance Allowance (AA) customers (pdf, 0.1MB)

Pauline Thompson, Head of PIDMA (Professionalism in Decision Making and Appeals), provides a further update on the innovative work based learning programme leading to accreditation and higher education awards for DLA/AA decision makers and their Managers.

Results of the Pension Service's Customer Satisfaction Survey

The DWP have published the results of their customer satisfaction survey about The Pension Service (TPS). This survey revealed that the TPS' 85 percent customer satisfaction rate has remained relatively static since 2005.

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Education

A New Way of Handling Parents' Complaints about School Issues (pdf, 0.1MB)

The AJTC responded to the Department of Children Schools and Families' consultation, 'A New Way of Handling Parents' Complaints about School Issues', which closed on 21 November 2008.

Independent Schools Adjudicator's Annual Report for 2007-08

The Independent Schools Adjudicator has published his Annual Report for 2007/08. The Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families has responded to the report.

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Feedback

NAO report: Complaints Handling in Health and Social Care

The National Audit Office has produced a report, 'Feeding back? Learning from Complaints Handling in Health and Social Care.'

NAO report: Use of Sanctions and Rewards in the Public Sector

The National Audit Office has produced a report into the use of sanctions and rewards in the public sector based upon academic research and an NAO survey.

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People

Professor L. Neville Brown

Former Council on Tribunals member, Professor L Neville Brown, OBE, legal scholar, died on 6 November 2008, aged 85. Professor Brown took an interest in the AJTC up until the time of his death.

Two New AJTC Members

The Lord Chancellor has appointed two new members to the Administrative Justice and Tribunals Council (AJTC) with the agreement of the Scottish and Welsh Ministers. New members, Professor Alice Brown and Mrs Jodi Berg, have been appointed for a period of four years from 1 December 2008.

Employment Tribunal President

His Honour Judge Goolam Meeran will retire as President of the Employment Tribunals for England and Wales on 31 December 2008. He will also retire as a Circuit Judge on 4 March 2009.

The Lord Chancellor, the Right Honourable Jack Straw MP, has appointed David John Latham in his place, with effect from 1 January 2009.

New Social Security and Child Support Appointments

Pauline Alison Gray and David John Wall were appointed Regional Chairmen of the Social Security and Child Support Appeal Tribunal (now the Social Entitlement Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal) with effect from 8 October 2008.

Nicholas Wikeley was appointed as a Social Security and Child Support Commissioner with effect from 29 October 2008.

New Chair for Justice

Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws, QC, of Doughty Street Chambers, has been elected chair of the governing council of human rights and law reform charity, Justice, for a period of three years.

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Ombudsmen

PHSO: Improving public service:
a matter of principle

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has published her report Improving public service: a matter of principle. This is her second report on how government bodies and the NHS handle complaints, and forms part of an ongoing series of complaint digests.

PHSO: Principles of Good Complaint Handling

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has published 'Principles of Good Complaint Handling', following her earlier 'Principles of Good Administration' and 'Principles for Remedy'.

PASC publishes its report on Equitable Life (pdf, 0.4MB)

The Public Administration Select Committee has published a report on Equitable Life: 'Justice delayed: The Ombudsman's report on Equitable Life.'

LGO calls upon the Councils to Implement Recommendations

The Local Government Ombudsman has recently issued two reports where Councils have failed to implement Ombudsman recommendations and remedy injustice to complainants.

• first report
• second report

European Ombudsman's Annual Report calls for more Initiatives to raise Citizens' awareness

The European Parliament has adopted the recommendations of the European Ombudsman's 2007 annual report. The report calls for all EU institutions and bodies to be given the necessary budgetary and human resources to ensure that citizens receive prompt and substantive responses to their enquiries, complaints and petitions.

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Parliament

Managing Migration: Draft Immigration and Citizenship Bill

The Home Affairs Committee has decided to suspend its programme of oral evidence on the draft (partial) Immigration and Citizenship Bill. It will resume taking evidence once the full Bill is introduced in the new parliamentary session.

Justice Committee: Uncorrected Oral Evidence on the MoJ Annual Report

The Justice Committee has published the uncorrected transcript of public evidence taken on the Ministry of Justice Annual Report for 2007/08.

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International

Statutory Decision-Makers and the Obligation to Give Reasons for Decisions: A Discussion Paper (pdf, 0.2MB)

The Administrative Justice Office in British Columbia published this report in September.

The role of VCAT in a changing World: the President's review of VCAT (pdf, 0.1MB)

The President of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) delivered a speech about VCAT's first ten years.

Administrative Accountability in Business subject to Complex Regulation

The Australian Administrative Review Council has published a report on accountability and transparency in the development and application of business rules. The report covers regulation by government agencies, self-regulation by industry bodies and other non-government entities.

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