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Meeting of the Parliament 29 March 2012

29 Mar 2012 · S4 · Meeting of the Parliament

Item of business

Tribunal System

Marra, Jenny Lab North East Scotland Watch on SPTV

I thank the minister for her considered introduction to the topic and welcome the opportunity to speak in this debate on an important issue.

Tribunals are a fundamental part of the Scottish civil justice system. Each year, many more Scots attend tribunals than attend court hearings, so we have an important responsibility to get the reform correct.

Unlike court hearings, tribunals are designed to bring about resolutions to disputes in an informal and less adversarial fashion, which makes them unique in form and function. However, much like the decisions that are taken in court, tribunal hearings have a significant impact on people’s lives. That is the case not least with mental health tribunals, which have the ability to restrict the fundamental freedoms of our citizens.

With that in mind, it is essential that any restructuring of the tribunal system be focused and centred on the citizen. The three principles of accessibility, accountability and transparency must be at the core of the reform. We must aim to create a structure that is not only clear from the outside looking in but coherent from the perspective of the citizens who use it.

During the previous debate on tribunal reform, the Scottish Parliament was united behind the need to restructure the fragmented and complex tribunal system in Scotland. Expert reports and evidence all agree that the system is too often inaccessible and costly to people. We have more than 40 tribunals, which handle a case load of more than 500,000 a year, and stakeholders were clear that we could do better to simplify the system for Scottish citizens.

The consultation that was launched last week contains far-reaching proposals for reform, and I am certain that, as it unfolds, we shall receive the same thorough and informative feedback from stakeholders as we did in 2010. I broadly welcome the proposals and agree with their main objective of creating a more coherent system, which will provide better clarity for people. Bringing each tribunal into one, streamlined system gives us the opportunity to offer Scots an enhanced level of accessibility to the justice system, as well as clear accountability for the decisions that tribunals make.

I welcome the fact that the new system will be adaptable in that it will be able to integrate further tribunals if and when that is deemed necessary. That aspect of the proposals will allow the Scottish system to respond efficiently to changes in United Kingdom legislation and will offer sustainability and clarity.

Many aspects of the consultation proposals require careful consideration, and I look forward to receiving stakeholder responses on them. For example, on matters such as appointments and the regulation of the system, we must act as far as possible in the spirit of the Leggatt report and recognise that the independence of tribunals is critical to their users’ confidence in them. I welcome the Government’s stated commitment to that principle and look forward to it underpinning any statutory provisions that are introduced. As we move to the new tribunal system, I urge the Government to listen to stakeholders and assess carefully its proposals on sharing services with courts in a drive for efficiencies.

As I said at the start of my speech, the tribunals’ separateness from the courts is an integral part of their less adversarial and more informal approach to resolving disputes between the citizen and the state. Although there is a case to be made for sharing services where practicable, any such move must not amount to a fundamental deviation in the nature of tribunals.

Similarly, in this drive for efficiencies, I look to the Government to protect the expertise and specialist resources that will continue to benefit each tribunal in its new format. As we know, each tribunal deals with a unique and usually highly technical aspect of law and we must not undo the good work that has been done up to now to build and maintain the appropriate resources for undertaking robust and comprehensive tribunal hearings. We need to carefully consider the types of services to be shared and the extent to which efficiencies take precedence as the system unfolds.

These and other issues will undoubtedly arise as the consultation goes forward and I am confident that, in its drive to get this aspect of civil justice right for the thousands of Scots who use it every year, the Government will be keen to work together with all parties in the Parliament to take forward stakeholders’ views. Labour wants a system that not only is streamlined and efficient but is accountable and transparent and puts people at its centre. We will work with the Government throughout and beyond the consultation to achieve that, because it is the fair and right thing to do.

I move amendment S4M-02521.1, to insert at end:

“and believes that any reform should put users at the centre by following the principles of transparency, accountability and accessibility.”

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Meeting of the Parliament 29 March 2012

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