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Meeting of the Parliament 07 November 2013

07 Nov 2013 · S4 · Meeting of the Parliament

Item of business

Tribunals (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Cunningham, Roseanna SNP Perthshire South and Kinross-shire Watch on SPTV

I am delighted to open this stage 1 debate on the Tribunals (Scotland) Bill. I thank the Justice Committee for its scrutiny of the bill at stage 1 and for the preparation of its comprehensive stage 1 report. I also record my thanks to the various groups and individuals who provided evidence to the committee during stage 1, as well as to those who have engaged directly with the Government during the development of the bill and the parliamentary process to date. As members know, the introduction of a bill is usually preceded by a considerable amount of work, probably for a good couple of years prior to it, and the folk who are engaged in the discussion then have to carry that through during the bill process.

The bill aims to create a simplified and flexible framework that will bring coherence to the current disparate tribunals landscape. It brings improvements to the structure, management and organisation of devolved tribunals while maintaining the specialism and ethos of each individual tribunal. The bill creates a simple two-tier structure; introduces common practices and procedures; and brings judicial leadership, under the Lord President. The bill includes proposals to bring tribunal appointments into the remit of the Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland, which will ensure independence from Government and provide consistency in tribunal appointments. That will ensure that all tribunal users benefit from the same high standard of judicial decision making, regardless of the subject matter.

The bill creates the office of president of the Scottish tribunals, to support the Lord President with his new duties, to champion tribunals in the wider civil justice system and to ensure the proper distinction and separation of tribunals from courts. There will also be a new upper tribunal for Scotland, which will benefit the tribunal user by, in most cases, removing appeals from courts. The bill creates a structure that will enable a far better service to be provided to users. As it deals with structure and organisation, much of the detail will necessarily be fleshed out in secondary legislation.

The proposals in the bill have not been developed in isolation. In addition to the formal consultation exercise, we have engaged extensively with stakeholders and the judiciary. It is important to note that the bill does not sit in isolation and is an integral part of our making justice work programme, which is the most significant set of reforms to our justice system for more than a century. The programme brings together a wide range of reforms to the structure and processes of the courts, access to justice and tribunals and administrative justice. It has been developed and is being delivered with partners across the justice system. It is probably fair to say that the bill is at the least controversial end of that broader programme of work.

I turn to the detail of the Justice Committee’s report. I warmly welcome the committee’s support for the general principles of the bill and the recommendation to the Parliament that those principles be agreed to. I will address a few of the issues that are raised in the report, and I will be interested in hearing members’ views during the debate.

I note the committee’s view that consideration should be given to extending the pool of eligible candidates for assignment to the office of president of the Scottish tribunals. It is important to acknowledge that the leadership of the new tribunals structure will be invested in the Lord President, who will have responsibility for the efficient disposal of business and overall responsibility for the Scottish tribunals, as he does for the Scottish courts. The position of president of the Scottish tribunals is not an appointment; it is an assignment by the Lord President to assist him in delivering those new responsibilities. The president of the Scottish tribunals has certain functions delegated to them in the bill and will be responsible for the day-to-day running of the Scottish tribunals. That includes the upper tribunal, which will be made up of senators, sheriffs principal and sheriffs as well as chamber presidents from the first-tier tribunal.

For those reasons, it is entirely appropriate that the president of the Scottish tribunals should be assigned from among the senators of the College of Justice. I welcome the Lord President’s announcement that he intends to assign Lady Smith to the office. Lady Smith will bring a wealth of knowledge to the position.

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Meeting of the Parliament 07 November 2013

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