§ Mr. Thomas Coxasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the names and addresses of the present membership of the Croydon rent tribunal office.
§ Mr. ChannonThe chairman is J. E. Fishwick (lawyer) and the members are E. C. Trotman, OBE FRICS (valuer) and Mrs. P. M. Dammarell, MBE JP (lay member). I do not think it right to publish private addresses of panel members.
§ Mr. Thomas Coxasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the present financial allowances paid to members of rent tribunals in the Greater London Council area.
§ Mr. ChannonThe daily fee payable throughout the country to members of rent assessment panels, from which rent tribunals, rent assessment committees and rent scrutiny boards are drawn, is £27 for chairmen, £25 for lawyer and valuer members and £15 for lay members. Half-duty fees are payable as appropriate.392W Travelling expenses and subsistence allowances are paid at appropriate Civil Service salary scale rates.
§ Mr. Thomas Coxasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the number of rent tribunal offices in the Greater London area; and if he will list them in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Mr. ChannonTwelve. The list—as at October 1973—is shown below:
Tribunal Offices
Barnet and Camden.
7, Elthorne Road, Upper Holloway (Archway), N.19.
Brent and Harrow.
Lynwood House, 24–32, Kilburn High Road, N.W.6.
Croydon and South West London.
Concord House, 454–8, London Road, Croydon, CRO 2SS.
East London.
7, Elthorne Road, Upper Holloway (Archway), N.19.
Hammersmith.
Ground Floor, Hythe House, 200, Shepherds Bush Road, Hammersmith, W.6.
Islington.
7, Elthorne Road, Upper Holloway (Archway) N.19.
Kensington and Chelsea.
3rd Floor, Hythe House, 200, Shepherds Bush Road, Hammersmith, W.6.
Lambeth.
1st Floor, 3–9, Acre Lane, Brixton, S.W.2.
Paddington.
6th Floor, Norgeby House, 83, Baker Street, W.1.
South East London.
1st Floor (over Burton's), 13–14, Nelson Road, Greenwich, S.E.10.
South Middlesex.
Room 204, Craig House, 140, Uxbridge Road, Ealing, W.13.
Tottenham.
Avenue Lodge, Bounds Green Road, N.22.
§ Mr. Thomas Coxasked the Secretary of State for the Environment who is responsible for the appointment of members to rent tribunal offices; how they are selected; if steps are taken to ensure that members live in the areas that are covered by a rent tribunal office; and if he will make a statement on their operation.
§ Mr. ChannonRent assessment panel presidents appoint chairmen and members of rent tribunals from their panel members. Rent tribunals have three members 393W each, a lawyer—who usually acts as chairman—a qualified valuer and a layman.
The aim is to provide a combination of judicial knowledge, professional expertise and commonsense ability to view a case impartially. While knowledge of the area covered by the tribunal can be a useful attribute, living in it is not considered an essential qualification for the job.
§ Mr. Thomas Coxasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the present cost of establishing a rent tribunal office in the Greater London area; and who is responsible for this expenditure.
§ Mr. ChannonThis information is not available, for costs will vary with the circumstances of the case, and cannot readily be forecast with any accuracy.
Expenditure on rent tribunal services cannot conveniently be separated from expenditure on all other rent assessment panel services, for which my Department is responsible.