Judges (Hansard, 5 June 2000)

§ Jane Kennedy

On 12 April 2000, the Lord Chancellor announced that he and the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Social Security had agreed with the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales and the Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, new arrangements for Part-time judicial appointments. Similar arrangements have now been put in place for an additional range of Part-time Tribunal appointments for which the Lord Chancellor is responsible and for appointments made by the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, the Secretary of State for Health, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, the President of the Council and the Home Secretary.

The Lord Chancellor has also agreed with the Lord President of the Court of Session that for those Tribunals which sit in Scotland, but where appointments remain wholly or partly the responsibility of Westminster Ministers, the Lord President will assume the role that the Lord Chief Justices have already agreed to for appointments in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In practice, this will mean that the Lord President will have to concur in all decisions to remove or not to renew an appointment.

Where Scottish Ministers and the National Assembly for Wales are now consulted on appointments to Tribunals in accordance with the relevant Statutory provisions or Devolution Concordats, they will also be consulted on removals from office, and decisions not to renew appointments.

These changes will come into effect immediately.

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I am placing in the Library of the House a joint statement signed by the Lord Chancellor and the Lord President setting out the arrangements for the following Tribunals, which may sit in Scotland: Part-time Immigration Adjudicators Part-time members of the Immigration Appeal Tribunal Part-time members of the Income and Corporation Taxes Tribunal Deputy Special Commissioners for Income Tax Commissioners Part-time members of the unified appeals service Deputy Social Security and Child Support Commissioners Part-time President and Chairmen of the Transport Tribunal Deputy Traffic Commissioners.

I am also placing in the Library of the House joint statements signed by the specified Minister and by the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales covering the following fixed-term appointments to Tribunals: Lord Chancellor Part-time President and Chairman of the Transport Tribunal Part-time President and Vice President and Chairmen of the Rent Assessment Panels Part-time Commons Commissioners Arbitrators for the Motor Insurance Bureau Part-time Agricultural Arbitrators Part-time members of the Agricultural Land Tribunals Part-time members of the Mental Health Review Tribunals Part-time President and Chairmen of the Special Educational Needs Tribunal Part-time Chairman and Deputy Chairmen National Health Service Tribunal Legal panel Registered Homes Tribunal Part-time Chairmen of the Betting Levy Appeal Tribunal Part-time Chairmen of the Misuse of Drugs Tribunal Secretary of State for Environment, Transport and the Regions Part-time members of the Transport Tribunal Part-time members of Rent Assessment Committees Deputy Traffic Commissioners Secretary of State for Education and Employment Part-time members of the Special Educational Needs Tribunal Secretary of State for Health Part-time members of the National Health Service Tribunal President of the Council Part-time members of the Registered Homes Tribunal Home Secretary Part-time members of the Betting Levy Appeal Tribunal Part-time members of the Misuse of Drugs Tribunal.

I am also placing in the Library of the House joint statements signed by the specified Minister and by the Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland covering the following fixed-term appointments to Tribunals: Lord Chancellor Part-time Chairmen and members of the Appeal Tribunals Part-time Chairmen of the Fair Employment Tribunal Part-time members of the Tribunal established under Section 91 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 Part-time members of the Reserve Forces Appeal Tribunal Part-time Chairmen and members of the Mental Health Review Tribunal Part-time Chairmen of the Registered Homes Tribunal Part-time President and Chairmen of the Special Needs Tribunal 151W Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Part-time Chairmen and Commissioners of the Sentence Review Commission.

The First and Deputy First Ministers of the New Assembly for Northern Ireland are being invited to agree that the new arrangements be brought before the Executive Committee with a view to an announcement being made to the Assembly by the relevant Northern Ireland Ministers.