HC Deb 29 March 2000 vol 347 cc197-8W
Mrs. Fyfe

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, what criteria are applied for selecting members for Independent Tribunal Service panels. [116302]

Mr. Lock

Job descriptions and statements of eligibility and criteria are available for applicants for each office advertised. Copies of the eligibility and criteria for appointment guidance for posts within the Appeals Service have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Mrs. Fyfe

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, what reasons have been given to former members of the Independent Tribunal Service panels in the past year as to why their services were no longer required. [116301]

Mr. Lock

All former panel members who satisfied the age and appropriate qualifications criteria were offered interviews. Those who accepted and were unsuccessful at interview were given only this information, but were provided with the panel's reasons for rejection on request.

Mrs. Fyfe

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, what is the process for selecting members of the panels for the Independent Tribunal Service. [116303]

Mr. Lock

Vacancies are advertised in the national press and professional journals. Appointment is on the basis of interview and of consultation with the relevant professional community. The Lord Chancellor appoints the candidates who best demonstrate that they meet the appropriate criteria.

Mrs. Fyfe

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many persons with a trade union background were appointed or re-appointed as members of the panel for hearing appeals by the Independent Tribunal Service for (a) Glasgow and (b) Scotland in 1999; and how many in each category held a position on such panel immediately before panel members were informed that they had to re-apply for their positions. [116555]

Mr. Lock

There is not, nor ever has been, a formal requirement that any panel members have a trade union background and this information is not accordingly collected. It is not therefore possible to provide a breakdown by category. An independent review of all relevant appointments could be conducted only at disproportionate cost.