3 Proposal to abolish the AJTC
19. The Public Bodies Act 2011 received Royal Assent
on 14 December 2011. It contains provisions giving the Government
the power to abolish, merge or change the functions of certain
public bodies by secondary legislation. The AJTC is listed in
Schedule 1 to the Act as a body which Ministers may, by Order,
abolish.
20. In preparing the lists of bodies to be included
in the Schedules to the Act, the Government carried out an extensive
review of existing public bodies, "underpinned by the principle
that it is up to departments to carry out policy, and this should
not be duplicated elsewhere".[18]
As the Minister has explained:
In reviewing the Ministry of Justice's public
bodies, we looked at the functions those bodies undertook, whether
the functions needed to continue and if so, who should carry them
out. […] As part of that review three tests were applied
to each body to assess whether it, as a public body, remain[ed]
the right delivery mechanism:
- · Is
the body needed in order to perform a technical function?
- · Does
the body need to be politically impartial?
- · Is
the body needed to act independently in order to establish facts?
The AJTC did not meet any of the tests. Administrative
justice policy is the function of the Ministry of Justice, and
the oversight and development of administrative justice should
stay with the Department.[19]
21. As required by the Act, the MoJ ran a 12-week
public consultation on the future of the public bodies it sponsors,
including the proposal to abolish the AJTC. The public consultation
closed on October 11 2011, and the Government published its response
on 15 December. The Ministry received 41 responses in relation
to the AJTC.
22. A majority of the respondents, including the
Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, opposed the abolition.
Responses drew particular attention to the AJTC's strength as
"an independent organisation that exercises a UK wide overview
of the administrative justice system", its role as a forum
for bringing together disparate parts of the administrative justice
system, and its function of representing the interests of users
of the system.[20] A
majority were also concerned that functions of the AJTC could
not be adequately covered by the Ministry.
23. Four responses were "not opposed" to
the abolition, of which one actively supported the proposal as
a "logical step" after the formation of the combined
Courts and Tribunals Service.[21]
24. The Scottish Government was content with the
proposed abolition. The Welsh Government (which is currently engaged
in a programme of tribunal reforms) expressed a preference for
"for the AJTC to continue, in respect of the functions it
exercises in Wales, until such time its programme of tribunal
reform is at a sufficiently advanced stage".[22]
25. The MoJ disagreed with the concerns expressed
by respondents to its consultation, and has decided to proceed
with the abolition of the AJTC, stating:
The AJTC is an advisory body whose functions
are either no longer required or - in the case of its policy functions
- are more properly performed by Government itself … The
AJTC's functions are no longer required due to the establishment
of a unified tribunal system within HMCTS [Her Majesty's Courts
and Tribunals Service] which is committed to providing timely
and effective access to justice to users. The department itself
is capable of providing the required oversight of the administrative
justice system and its officials can provide Ministers with the
impartial, balanced, objective and expert advice necessary to
develop effective policy in this area.[23]
The Government remains committed to abolishing
the AJTC by an order under the Public Bodies Bill. It believes
that an advisory body is no longer required in the field of administrative
justice as robust governance and oversight arrangements [are]
now in place with regard to tribunals and the development of administrative
justice policy is properly a function of Government [...] The
abolition of the AJTC will have no direct impact on judicial independence
or judicial decision-making; the AJTC is not a tribunal or any
other form of judicial body. Nor does it have any inspectorate
functions.
The Government is committed to ensuring that
it exercises effective oversight of the administrative justice
system in a way that best serves users. It will seek to develop,
maintain and enhance a UK perspective of the system as well as
enhancing its links with stakeholders. The Government will ensure
that there are channels by which best practice can be shared and
collaborative working developed.[24]
26. We understand that the Government intends to
lay the draft Order abolishing the AJTC before Parliament in Spring
2012.[25] It is expected
to come into force in Summer 2012.[26]
27. The Government has argued that the AJTC fails
to meet its three criteria for deciding whether to retain a public
body. But it could be, and has been, argued that the AJTC in fact
meets all three of them: that it is "needed in order to perform
a technical function"; that it benefits from being "politically
impartial"; and that it is "needed to act independently
in order to establish facts" about the administrative justice
system.
18 Ev 36 Back
19
Ibid. Back
20
Response to consultation on reforms proposed in the Public
Bodies Bill, Ministry of Justice, December 2011, page 10 Back
21
As above, page 11 Back
22
Response to consultation on reforms proposed in the Public
Bodies Bill, Ministry of Justice, December 2011, page 1 Back
23
As above, page 15 Back
24
As above, page 18 Back
25
HC Deb 10 October 2011 c155W Back
26
Ev 32 Back
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