Council news in brief – Autumn 2005
New Scottish Committee Chair
Professor Alistair MacLeary has been appointed as the new Chairman of the Council's Scottish Committee. Professor MacLeary, who replaces John Elliot, is an honorary professor at the University of Heriot-Watt.
Before retiring earlier this year, Professor MacLeary was a member of the Lands Tribunal for Scotland for 15 years. He was also MacRobert Professor of Land Economy at the University of Aberdeen.
Professor MacLeary says, "Having retired from the Lands Tribunal I saw membership of the Council as an opportunity to put something back into the system. Since the Leggatt Report there has been an increasing awareness of the need to improve the dispensation of administrative justice. The White Paper and the anticipated Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Bill, promise a sea change in the system with an enhanced role for the Council. Altogether this seems to me an interesting time to get involved".
"In Scotland the anticipated changes may be more complex in their application. Where necessary, distinctions have to be made between UK and devolved matters. The Scottish Committee and its secretariat have made a vigorous contribution to the affairs of the Council under the guidance of my distinguished predecessor John Elliot. Chairmanship of that Committee I see as a particular honour; and a challenge in an exciting era of change."
Council Membership Changes
The Lord Chancellor, and Scottish Ministers, have re-appointed Liz Cameron to be member of the Council and Scottish Committee for a further term of four years, with effect from 2 September 2005.
Liz formerly worked for the Citizens Advice Bureau, latterly in Edinburgh Sheriff Court as manager of the In-Court Advice Services. Vice chair of the Scottish Mediation Network, Liz has been a member of the Council and the Scottish Committee since September 2002.
Ros Hepplewhite resigned from the Council at the end of August. We are grateful for the significant contribution Ros made to our work after she joined in September 2002.
Annual Report 2004/2005
The Council's Annual Report for 2004/2005 was published and laid before Parliament on 12 October 2005. It is available on the Council's website.
Scottish Committee Annual Report
The Annual Report of the Scottish Committee of the Council on Tribunals will be published on 3 November and will be available on the Council's website: www.council-on-tribunals.gov.uk
Tribunals - a Time for Change
The Chairman of the Council spoke at a conference organised by the Office of the President of Appeal Tribunals, Northern Ireland. Held in Belfast, the conference was introduced by the Right Honourable Sir Brian Kerr, Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, and considered the relevance for Northern Ireland of Tribunal Reform in England and Wales. Lord Newton's speech outlined some thoughts about the role of the proposed Administrative Justice and Tribunals Council.
- Read Lord Newton's speech (pdf, 28KB)
Education Appeals Support Initiative (EASI) Workshop
In October the Council hosted a workshop for London admission and exclusion appeal clerks, promoting the work of the Education Appeals Support Initiative (EASI) Group.
The success of the event was largely due to the enthusiasm of the participants, and the Council is pleased to report that as a result of this workshop the inaugural meeting of the London EASI group will take place on 1 December 2005 at the Council's offices.
The Council has produced a special edition of Adjust which covers the EASI Workshop in more detail.