§ Mr. Peter BottomleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will set targets for faster access to hearings at industrial tribunals and to the employment appeal tribunal in England and Wales.
§ Mr. McLoughlinThe Government aim to reduce the current time taken for cases to reach a hearing at the industrial tribunals and the employment appeal tribunal in England and Wales, and to help achieve this have increased the number of judges, chairmen, lay members and administrative staff and have expanded the premises. In addition, the Trade Union Reform and Employment Rights Bill provides that chairmen and judges may sit alone in certain cases.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the time taken for an appeal to come to hearing at the employment appeal tribunal in(a) England and Wales and (b) Scotland; and what assessment has been made of the reason for the difference between the figures.
§ Mr. McLoughlinAs regards the waiting times. I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 16 February 1993,Official Report, columns 190–91. One reason for the difference in waiting times is the lower workload in Scotland. There are also procedural differences in the handling of notices of appeal. However, additional judges have been appointed to the employment appeal tribunal and I expect this to be reflected in the waiting time in England and Wales.