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Consultation on reforms proposed in the Public Bodies Bill Reforming the public bodies' landscape of the Ministry of Justice. List of questions for response We would welcome responses to the following questions set out in this consultation paper. Please feel free to answer only those in which you have a specific interest. Please email your completed form to: PBB.Consultation@justice.gsi.gov.uk, or fax to: 020 3334 6452. Administrative Justice and Tribunals Council (AJTC) Question 1. Comments: What are your views on the proposed abolition of the AJTC Context First of all this response must be read in its context and is written on behalf of Education Appeals Support Initiation (EASI) Group which is comprised of school admission and exclusion appeal administrators and clerks from Local Authorities, (independent) clerks of own admission authorities i.e. Voluntary Aided, Trust, Foundation schools and Academies and Dioceses in England. School Admission Panels were introduced by the Education Act 1980, whilst Exclusion Panels came into being in the 1990’s. School Admission and Exclusion Panels are Tribunals and, therefore, come under the supervision of the AJTC. However, unlike other Tribunals, they do not have a President or any formal body to represent them in their tribunals work. EASI Group was informed in 1999 by Local Authority and Diocese clerks who recognised the difficulties encountered in this field and the need to improve the functioning of these Tribunals. The CoT (former name of AJTC) produced a Special Report on School Admission & Exclusion Appeal Panels in May 2003 due to its serious concerns regarding the
functioning of these panels. In the report, CoT recognised the aims of EASI Group and, in fact, has been very supportive of the Group and its aims, especially in view of the fact these appeal panels operate in a vacuum where there is no President or representative body of the panels. It should also be noted that these panels are currently outside of the Tribunals Service. Furthermore, whilst at the moment most admission and exclusion panels consider decisions involving local authorities, in the future, when most if not all schools become Academies (as anticipated by this Government), this will no longer be the case as Academies are only answerable to the Secretary of State at the Department for Education (DfE). Therefore, in accordance with paragraph 21 of the Introduction to the Consultation Paper, this response is representative of the interests of people substantially affected by the proposal to abolish the AJTC. Q1 What are your views on the proposed abolition of the AJTC Paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Consultation document indicate that 3 tests are applied to each of the bodies and that a body would remain if it met at least one of the three tests. Test 1: Does it perform & technical function The AJTC performs a technical function in that it supervises tribunals and engages in consultation responses as part of its function. Test 2: Do its activities require political impartially It is essential that the AJTC’s activities require political impartially and must not be subject to the political lead given to Government Departments, which would include the MOJ. The AJTC must have the freedom to challenge issues where there is a direct conflict between government, whether local or particularly central, and the individuals and bodies involved in the processes it oversees. In fact, the Government is a party in the majority in cases before Tribunals. Test 3: Does it need to act independently to establish facts The AJTC’s independence has enabled it to function effectively, and build continuity, expertise and experience. Also, in order to scrutinise the operation of Tribunals, the body that does so needs to be Independent (or at the very least arms length) of any 2
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ANNEX A - RESPONSE TO CONSULTATION
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new Youth Justice Division. It will
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To understand the youth justice sys
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Introduction 1. JUSTICE is an indep
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8. Secondly and substantively, we d
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The Youth Justice Board Q23. What a
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