§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans his Department has to broaden the range of people eligible to sit on rent tribunals. [50106]
§ Mr. RaynsfordWe want to see tribunals drawn from a broader constituency and representing a balance of expert and lay membership. Though these are expert tribunals and necessarily include qualified lawyers and valuers, we have been concerned about the lack of lay members. My Department has started advertising to recruit more lay members and to widen the catchment from which they are drawn.