Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government under what circumstances a member of the public would not be permitted to observe a Social Security and Child Support Tribunal hearing.

The question as to whether a member of the public would not be permitted to observe a Social Security and Child Support Tribunal hearing is a matter for the judiciary, after taking all the circumstances of the case into account, and in accordance with the Tribunal’s Procedure Rules.

The Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (Social Entitlement Chamber) Rules 2008 state (at rule 30):

Public and private Hearings

30.—(1) Subject to the following paragraphs, all hearings must be held in public.

F1(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(3) The Tribunal may give a direction that a hearing, or part of it, is to be held in private.

[F2(3A) Without prejudice to paragraph (3), the Tribunal may direct that a hearing, or part of it, is to be held in private if—

(a) the Tribunal directs that the proceedings are to be conducted wholly or partly as video proceedings or audio proceedings;

(b) it is not reasonably practicable for such a hearing, or such part, to be accessed in a court or tribunal venue by persons who are not parties entitled to participate in the hearing;

(c) a media representative is not able to access the proceedings remotely while they are taking place; and

(d) such a direction is necessary to secure the proper administration of justice.]

(4) Where a hearing, or part of it, is to be held in private, the Tribunal may determine who is permitted to attend the hearing or part of it.

(5) The Tribunal may give a direction excluding from any hearing, or part of it—

(a) any person whose conduct the Tribunal considers is disrupting or is likely to disrupt the hearing;

(b) any person whose presence the Tribunal considers is likely to prevent another person from giving evidence or making submissions freely;

(c) any person who the Tribunal considers should be excluded in order to give effect to a direction under rule 14(2) (withholding information likely to cause harm); or

(d) any person where the purpose of the hearing would be defeated by the attendance of that person.

(6) The Tribunal may give a direction excluding a witness from a hearing until that witness gives evidence.

F1 Rule 30(2) omitted (27.12.2024) by virtue of The Tribunal Procedure (Amendment No. 2) Rules 2024 (S.I. 2024/1283), rules 1, 2(3)

F2 Rule 30(3A) inserted (temp.) (10.4.2020) by The Tribunal Procedure (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Rules 2020 (S.I. 2020/416), rules 1(2), 4(3)