Proposals to reform tribunals into a more efficient, independent and user-focused service have been published by the Tribunals Service (TS).
In the biggest shake-up of the tribunals system for 50 years, Delivering the Future: One System, One Service sets out the blueprint on how TS will use the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Bill to move from a service administering 27 different government tribunals to one providing unified support to a simplified tribunal structure. Most tribunals or organisations administered by TS will be transferred into the new structure, which provides a first level of appeal for users and a further level of appeal on questions of law.
The Asylum and Immigration Tribunal, employment tribunals and the Employment Appeal Tribunal will remain as separate tribunals within TS, but the new structure will make it easier for judiciary and staff to work more flexibly across different tribunals under the leadership of a new senior president of tribunals. A new hearing centre network will be introduced, as will administrative support centres dealing with a wide
