Promoting Fairness and Redress
The Administrative Justice and Tribunals Council keeps under review the administrative justice system as a whole with a view to making it accessible, fair and efficient. We seek to ensure that the relationships between the courts, tribunals, ombudsmen and alternative dispute resolution providers satisfactorily reflect the needs of users.
Dispute Resolution Without Hearings - Report of Workshop
On Monday 13 February 2012 the AJTC held a workshop to examine systems for resolving disputes without hearings. The session heard four speakers from organisations that handled disputes without the requirement for an attended hearing. A round table discussion followed.
A report has now been agreed and is available to download.
Lord Newton of Braintree 1937 - 2012
Lord (Tony) Newton of Braintree, the first Chairman of the AJTC, died on 25 March 2012.
Tony Newton was appointed chairman of the Council of Tribunals in 1999 and became the first chairman of the Administrative Justice & Tribunals Council in 2007. Over the 10 years that he led these two organisations, he played a key role in the programme of reforms which transformed tribunals into a central component of the machinery of justice. He became widely recognised and respected by judges, lawyers and interest groups as a champion of access to justice for ordinary individuals with a grievance against the State. Explaining the work of the AJTC, he said:
“while we use this phrase administrative justice, what we're doing is talk about how the citizen gets a fair deal and a proper hearing from the people who provide public services.”
Despite declining physical health, over the last two years he led a vigorous campaign in the House of Lords seeking to persuade the government that it would be misguided to abolish the AJTC.
Speaking in a Lords’ debate on the Public Bodies Bill he asked:
"Why preserve the Civil Justice Council, which I am in favour of, and the Family Justice Council, which I am also in favour of, but abandon the one council which is concerned with justice between the citizen and the state and which has a 50-year-plus track record of bringing about improvements in that area? Let us be clear: we are not talking here about great judicial reviews or developers seeking to get their plans past a planning refusal. We are talking about hundreds of thousands of social security claimants, people claiming disability benefits, people who are under compulsory orders going to mental health tribunals and a whole range of others … Why is this the Cinderella?”
WIG/AJTC Workshop: Exploring Best Practice in Complaint-Handling - Friday 27 April
This free seminar at our office in Chancery Lane, co-hosted with the Whitehall and Industry Group, aims to compare approaches to complaint handling between a selection of public and private sector bodies.
The keynote speaker will be the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Dame Julie Mellor with participation from the Department for Work and Pensions and large private sector organisations.
Applications are being handled by the Whitehall and Industry Group, for further details and to apply on line click here.
Public Administration Select Committee - Oversight of Adminstrative Justice
The Public Administration Select Committee has today (08 March 2012) published its report “Future oversight of administrative justice: the proposed abolition of the Administrative Justice and Tribunals Council”. The report is accompanied by a Press Release.
The committee concludes that:
'The Government’s rationale for winding up the AJTC was questionable, and that the Ministry of Justice may not have either the resources or the expertise to take on its functions. PASC also recommended that the House of Commons Justice Committee take its findings from this inquiry into account when it considers the Government’s proposed legislation.'
Commenting on today's report Richard Thomas, Chairman of AJTC, said:
"The PASC report is deeply sceptical about the proposal to abolish the AJTC. I especially welcome the conclusion that our role in providing an independent overview of the system which protects the rights of millions of citizens is "one of vital national importance". The need which the Committee recognised for user-centred scrutiny and challenge is especially important at this time of cutbacks and major changes to the relationship between State and Citizen. The government cannot act as its own watchdog.
I hope the government will now pause for thought. We stand ready for constructive dialogue."
Charging Fees in the Employment Tribunal and Employment Appeal Tribunal
The AJTC has responded (06 March 2012) to the Ministry of Justice consultation on introducing fees in Employment Tribunals and Employment Appeal Tribunal
The Council has three main concerns about the proposals. First that they fail to meet the Ministry’s own success criteria. Secondly that the final version should be more closely dovetailed with other changes to the ET system. Thirdly that dovetailing needs to meet several goals including access to justice for both the employee and employer, maximising opportunity for early settlement and, as a consequence, reducing costs of operating ETs.
The Chairman has written a covering letter to supplement the responses to the Ministry's consultation questions.
School Exclusion Guidance - Consultation Response.
The AJTC has responded to a consultation by the Department for Education on guidance for those with legal responsibilities in relation to school exclusion.
The Chairman has also written to the Schools Minister, Nick Gibb MP, expressing the Council's concerns about the guidance and particularly its applicability to the new Independent Review Panels which will replace the current Exclusion Appeal Panels. The letter sets out the Council's view that the IRPs, which are composed of lay volunteers, need more and better guidance than is provided in the draft document about the exercise of their statutory functions.
The letter goes on to re-iterate the Councils long held view that it would be better for all exclusion appeals to be heard by the First-tier Tribunal (SEND) avoiding the need for new and untested arrangements for the IRPs.
The response and letter can be read by clicking on the links.
AJTC Response to DBIS Consultation on the Employment Tribunals (Constitution and Rules of Procedure) (Amendment) Regulations 2012
The AJTC has been consulted by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on draft regulations amending the procedural Rules for Employment Tribunals (ET). This follows on from an earlier BIS/MoJ consultation on "Resolving Workplace Disputes" (RWD), to which the AJTC also responded.
In his response the AJTC Chairman suggested that the proposed timing for bringing forward these amendment regulations seemed premature, particularly in the light of Mr Justice Underhill's ongoing review of the ET procedural rules and other policy changes that are likely to emerge from RWD. The AJTC therefore suggests a period of reconsideration before bringing these provisions into effect.
AJTC Scottish Committee - Consultation
The Scottish Committee of the AJTC has launched a consultation exercise regarding administrative decisions made by Scottish Government departments and public bodies where there is no right of appeal against the decision or where the right of appeal is inaccessible or inappropriate.
The consultation is the accumulation of work undertaken by the Scottish Committee as it considered that these decisions were of paramount importance for the future of administrative justice in Scotland. The discussion paper issued on 22 December and the Committee are seeking responses by the end of January. The paper can be read or downloaded here. There is also an introductory letter from the Scottish Committee Chairman and a Questionairre.
Proposed abolition of the AJTC - Ministry of Justice consultation response
The Public Bodies Act received Royal Assent on 14 December 2011, and the Ministry of Justice has today published its response to the consultation on reforms proposed under the Act. In the response, the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice confirms that the government will seek to abolish the Administrative Justice and Tribunals Council (AJTC).
Commenting on today's announcement, Richard Thomas, AJTC Chairman said:
"We believe that the government is seriously misguided in its wish to close down the independent body which is the champion for the hundreds of thousands of people who challenge its mistakes each year. We promote access to justice, fairness and efficiency and hope to persuade Parliament that our disappearance should not be approved"
The government's response to the consultation can be found at http://www.justice.gov.uk/consultations/reform-public-bodies.htm
Consultation on Admissions Regulations
The AJTC has responded to the Department for Education's latest consultation on regulations for School Admission Appeal Panels.
The response recognises the Department’s laudable aim of reducing prescription but the Council has a number of serious concerns particularly about training of panel members and the scope for inconsistency
Consultation on a Scottish Civil Justice Council.
On 29 November the Scottish Committee of the AJTC responded to the Scottish Government consultation paper on the Creation of a Scottish Civil Justice Council. In addition to responding to the questions posed in the consultation paper the Committee made a number of supplementary comments expanding the detail points made in the response.
The letter from the Committee Chairman, Richard Henderson CB, and the response questionairre are here (pdf 80kb) The Scottish Government's original consulation paper is on its website
Scottish and Welsh Commitee Annual Reports 2010-11
The Scottish and Welsh Committees of the AJTC have today, 16 November, published their Annual Reports for 2010-11. They have been laid before The Scottish Parliament and the National Assembly for Wales respectively, pursuant to para. 21 Sch 7 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007.
AJTC Annual Report 2010-11
The AJTC has today, 14 November, published its Annual Report for 2010-11 (pdf 0.5MB). It has been laid before Parliament, The Scottish Parliament and the National Assembly for Wales pursuant to para. 21 Sch 7 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007.
The reports of the Scottish and Welsh Committees will be published shortly
Richard Thomas to Give Evidence to the Public Adminstration Select Commitee
AJTC Chairman Richard Thomas is to give evidence to the Commons Public Administration Select Committee. The Committee is conducting a short inquiry into the Government’s oversight of administrative justice following the announcement of plans to abolish the AJTC as part of the wider reform of public bodies.
Details of the inquiry are on the Committee’s webpage
Securing Fairness and Redress - Administrative Justice at Risk
The AJTC has today (20 October 2011) published its latest report Securing Fairness and Redress: Administrative Justice at Risk? The report expresses concern about recent developments in administrative justice that make it harder for individuals to challenge government decisions. In particular, the AJTC is concerned about plans that limit access to advice and representation and introduce fees in some jursidictions. These changes come on top of already long delays in getting appeals heard.
The report makes a plea for a more strategic approach to administrative justice, and sets out five areas where reform is needed:
• better and more stable laws and regulations, especially in the areas of welfare benefits and immigration;
• a ‘Right First Time’ culture in government decision-making;
• proper access to help, advice and representation for citizens pursuing redress against government decisions;
• further reforms to ensure coherent access to administrative justice across the whole of the UK;
• new and proportionate models for resolving disputes faster and in more user-friendly ways
These developments are essential if administrative justice is to develop into a system appropriate for an open 21st century democracy.
The full report and covering press release are avalable to view/download.
AJTC Response to DBIS Consultation on Employment Tribunal Rules
The AJTC has been consulted by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on draft regulations amending the procedural Rules governing Employment Tribunals. This follows on from an earlier consultation "Resolving Workplace Disputes", to which the AJTC also responded.
In his response the AJTC Chairman explained that the Council did not consider it appropriate to comment on the draft regulations at this time, ahead of the government's response to Resolving Workplace Disputes, which will touch on issues directly relevant to the draft regulations.
AJTC Response to Family Migration - A Consultation
The AJTC has responded (06 October) to the UK Border Agency's consultation on Family Migration. The Council does not consider it appropriate to remove rights of appeal in these cases. Instead it suggests alternative routes, in particular a 'Right First Time' approach, which could reduce unnecessary appeals while preserving access to independent adjudication for those cases where it is required.
The full response, in the form of a letter from the Chairman, can be viewed here.
Adjust Newsletter - January 2012
The AJTC's quarterly electronic newsletter features all the latest news and articles from the Council and across the administrative justice world. View
Scottish
Cymru / Welsh
The latest edition of the AJTC's quarterly electronic newsletter.
What's new
Devolution of Community Care Grants and Crisis Loans: Consultation on Successor Arrangements
The Scottish Committee responded to the Scottish Government consultation on the Devolution of Community Care Grants: Successor Arrangements.
(09 November 2011) More..
AJTC Conference 2011
The AJTC Annual Conference will be held on Thursday 17 November 2011 at The BIS Conference Centre, One Victoria Street, London SW1
(07 September 2011) More..