Talk:Tribunals Service

The Appeals Service and the Social Security and Child Support Appeals Tribunal

I think we agree that the SSCSA Tribunal is simply the new name for the Appeals Tribunal. Am I right in thinking, Francis Davey, that you're saying the Appeals Tribunal (a tribunal) was simply sponsored by the Appeals Service (an executive agency), that they weren't just two names for the same whole?

In Hansard, here, Vera Baird seems to confirm that the SSCSA Tribunal is simply the entirely of the Appeals Service, just with a new name, by saying that "the Appeals Service, now known as Social Security and Child Support Appeal Tribunal (SSCSA), transferred from the Department for Work and Pensions and became part of the Tribunals Service." - Heavens To Betsy 11:54, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Yes, I am saying that. Its a mistake that I would expect a government minister to make 8-) and its often made. The point is that almost all statutory tribunals are separate entities legally - and the people who sit on them are not civil servants and do not form a part of the executive. On the other hand, the support service (TAS, ETS, RPTS or whatever) is staffed by civil servants and is part of the executive. This is something I felt very keenly when I worked (briefly) for the senior president of the London Rent Assessment Panel, who was very clear as to the distinction. I hope that makes sense. Francis Davey 13:06, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

It does, thanks for taking the time to explain it fully. The work I'm doing at the moment includes trying to understand the way the Appeals Service changed and how their successor exists as a legal entity. We get contradicting information from the Tribunals Service themselves and civil servants in individual local offices still calling themselves Appeals Service, but I thought I'd got it understood. Obviously not. Thanks again. Heavens To Betsy 13:23, 8 September 2006 (UTC)