Asked by: Alan Campbell (Labour - Tynemouth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what guidance he has issued on the use of unlicensed doctors in his Department's tribunals.
Answered by Mike Freer
Medical Members principally sit on cases in the Social Entitlement and Health, Education and Social Care (Mental Health) and War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Chambers.
Members of the Tribunals, who are not judges, are appointed by the Senior President of Tribunals under either Schedule 2 or 3 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007. Required qualifications for these appointments are specified in the Qualifications for Appointment of Members to the First-tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal Order 2008, which sets out that a person who is not a judge is only eligible for appointment as a member of the First-tier or Upper Tribunal if they are, amongst other listed professions, a Registered Medical Practitioner. The Order also clarifies that a Registered Medical Practitioner means a fully registered person within the meaning of the Medical Act 1983, whether or not they hold a licence to practise under that Act.
This requirement is included in the information for candidates issued by the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) for Medical Member recruitment. As part of the selection process, the JAC checks and validates each candidate’s registration against the General Medical Council’s online register.
Following appointment, General Medical Council registrations are checked, at least annually, by the Tribunals as part of the appraisals process. All Tribunal Members, including Medical Members, are subject to the judicial conduct guidance issued by the Lord Chief Justice and Senior President of the Tribunals, and are expected to notify the relevant leadership judge immediately of any change in circumstances.
Asked by: Alan Campbell (Labour - Tynemouth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure consistency in the legal aid fees payable for family law disputes involving children across England and Wales.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
This Government is committed to ensuring that everyone gets the support they need to access the justice system. The legal aid scheme is designed to target funding at those that need it most; legal aid is available in certain family matters, including public family law cases which fall under the Children Act 1989.
The consistency of legal aid fees is considered within the context of the wider civil and family legal aid system. More widely we continue to consider the long-term sustainability of the civil legal aid market and we have been engaging with representative bodies and providers within the sector to increase our understanding of the challenges the system is facing.
The Legal Aid Agency keep legal aid provision under constant review and take action when necessary to ensure consistency of provision.
Asked by: Alan Campbell (Labour - Tynemouth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps the Government is taking to reduce the waiting time for benefits appeals from the 40 week average cited by HM Courts and Tribunal Service.
Answered by Paul Maynard
It is important that appeals are heard as quickly as possible. The Ministry of Justice recognises that there are delays in the system and is in the process of recruiting more judicial office holders in order to increase capacity and help to reduce waiting times for appellants. In the Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) jurisdiction, 225 new medical members and 119 disability-qualified members have recently been appointed and are now hearing cases.
The SSCS jurisdiction will also benefit from the fact that 250 fee-paid judges and 100 salaried judges are being recruited across tribunals more widely. In addition, we have recently launched a new digital service with a view to enabling speedier processing of appeals and providing a better service for all parties to the proceedings. Information on the new digital service can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/appeal-benefit-decision/submit-appeal
Asked by: Alan Campbell (Labour - Tynemouth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to reduce wait times for Her Majesties Courts and Tribunals Service.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
It is a procedural requirement across courts and tribunals to deal with the case efficiently and expeditiously. Listing is a judicial responsibility and function, and the judiciary, in consultation with Her Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service, regularly review performance across all jurisdictions. Appropriate action is taken in response to any emerging issues, including to reduce waiting times if this is needed. This may include changes to the allocation of resources.
Over £1bn is being invested in transforming the courts & tribunal service, making the justice system simpler to access, convenient to use and more efficient to run; using digital technology to bring the processes of justice into the 21st century.