TRIBUNALS SERVICE
News Release (03/07) issued by The Government News Network on 24
July 2007
Improved standards
of service and planning for major structural changes have been
achieved successfully in the Tribunals Service's first year,
says its annual report published today.
Almost 570,000 tribunal cases were dealt with in 2006-07, of
which 254,000 were appeals against social security and child
support decisions. A further 166,000 were claims appealing asylum
and immigration rulings and a further 104,000 were employment
claims and appeals. In these three largest areas, waiting times
for hearings were reduced in 2006-07. Reduced waiting times were
also achieved by many of the smaller Tribunals Service (TS) tribunals.
Peter Handcock, Chief Executive of the Tribunals Service, said:
"We committed ourselves in our first year to plan to deliver
a real transformation in tribunals, without compromising the
existing service on which so many people depend. I believe we have
achieved this. We have improved performance significantly across
most of our tribunals and have well developed plans to do even
more. We have introduced a new leadership and management structure
to integrate all of our business, and we have developed a radical
new business model which will transform our service over the next
five years.
"These are considerable achievements for an organisation in
its first year. They reflect our determination to realise the
potential benefits of reform for both taxpayer and tribunal user alike."
TS, an agency of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), was set up in
April 2006 to establish, for the first time, a unified
administration for the tribunals system. In 2006-07 its focus was
on planning the integration and modernisation of the tribunals -
many of which were previously sponsored by other government
departments - and devising the TS Strategy, published in May,
which outlines how it will use the Tribunals, Courts and
Enforcement Bill to drive forward its transformation. At the same
time, the organisation committed to maintain or improve standards
of delivery.
Other highlights of the year include:
* Social Security and Child Support Appeals (SSCSA) saw its
average time from receipt of appeal to first tribunal hearing fall
from 10.4 weeks in 2005-06 to 9.6 weeks in 2006-07, against a
target of 11 weeks.
* Some 79.4 per cent of employment tribunal cases had their first
hearing within 26 weeks, compared to a target of 75 per cent. This
marked an improvement over last year when performance was 78 per
cent, and was achieved against a backdrop of a 25 per cent rise in
single claims.
* The Asylum and Immigration Tribunal has joint performance
targets with the Home Office. The proportion of substantive asylum
applications received in 2005-06 that were decided, including
final appeal, within six months was, according to provisional
figures, 74 per cent, compared to 67 per cent in 2005-06. Final
figures will be published by the Home Office later this year.
* The Criminal Injuries Compensation Appeals Panel has reduced
its number of outstanding appeals, from 4,339 in April 2005 to
2,525 by the end of March 2007. This represents a cut of 42 per
cent over two years and 27 per cent in the past year.
* TS retained Charter Mark accreditation in the Asylum and
Immigration Tribunal. Employment tribunals and the Employment
Appeal Tribunal also successfully completed their annual Charter
Mark surveillance. TS also developed and implemented a new TS-wide
complaints and compliment scheme.
* Two pilot schemes were launched to test whether alternative
dispute resolution techniques can be effective in resolving
tribunal cases. One is running in three employment tribunal
offices while the second is taking place in two SSCSA offices.
SSCSA has also been working with the Disability and Carers Service
to improve original decision making, and therefore reduce the
number of cases referred to the tribunal.
* TS has developed its capability for reform by devising a new
business model for operational delivery, agreeing a new regional
management structure and agreeing a financial settlement with HM
Treasury and the MoJ for the next four years which includes
investment funding to deliver the transformation.
Notes to Editors
1. Copies of the Tribunals Service Annual Report and Accounts
2006-07 are available from http://www.tribunals.gov.uk/publications.htm
2. The TS Strategy 'Delivering the future: one system, one
service' was published on May 23. See press notice 1/07 at http://www.tribunals.gov.uk/newsrelease.htm
3. The Tribunals Service is an executive agency of the Ministry
of Justice, formed in April 2006 to provide independent
administrative support to central government tribunals and
organisations. Some 27 are now supported by the Tribunals Service.
They are:
* Adjudicator to HM Land Registry
* Asylum & Immigration
Tribunal
* Asylum Support Tribunal (from 1 April 2007)
*
Care Standards Tribunal (from 1 April 2007)
* Claims
Management Services Tribunal
* The Commissioners Office
*
Criminal Injuries Compensation Appeals Panel
* Employment
Tribunals
* Employment Appeal Tribunal
* Financial
Services and Markets Tribunal
* Gambling Appeals
Tribunal
* Gender Recognition Panel
* General
Commissioners of Income Tax
* Information Tribunal
*
Immigration Services Tribunal
* Lands Tribunal
* Mental
Health Review Tribunal
* Pathogen Access Appeals
Commission
* Pensions Appeal Tribunal
* Pensions Regulator
Tribunal
* Proscribed Organisations Appeals Commission
*
Social Security and Child Support Appeals Tribunal
* Special
Commissioners of Income Tax
* Special Educational Needs and
Disability Tribunal
* Special Immigration Appeals
Commission
* Transport Tribunal
* VAT and Duties Tribunal.
The purpose of the Tribunals Service is to:
* provide a responsive and efficient tribunals administration;
* contribute to the improvement of the quality of decision-making
across Government;
* reform the tribunals justice system for the benefit of its
customers and the wider public; and
* promote and protect the independence of the judiciary.
For
more details see http://www.tribunals.gov.uk