Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to review how the contribution of lay members in asylum cases is treated following the Court of Appeal judgment in <i>PF (Nigeria) v the Secretary of State for the Home Department </i>[2015] EWCA Civ 251, in which the importance of the lay member’s interpretation on matters of fact was highlighted.

HMCTS does not routinely assess the number of lay members sitting in asylum cases or their regional distribution by either location or appeal type, as the composition of panels is a judicial function.

The First-tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal (Composition of Tribunal) Order 2008 states that the composition of Tribunal panels is the responsibility of the Senior President of Tribunals. The need for non-legal members is continuously assessed by the Immigration and Asylum Chambers and sitting days are made available based on workloads and requirements set out under the Senior President’s delegated powers.

The contribution and deployment of non-legal members is a matter for the Senior President of Tribunals.