April 2010
Tribunals provide access to justice for thousands of people each year many of whom are among the most disadvantaged in our community. We are reforming our tribunal system to provide a more accessible, independent and modern service. We are at the beginning of the reform process and we want to listen and understand those who use our services in order to deliver a reformed service which meets their needs. This is undoubtedly a challenge in this time of financial constraint we are all facing.
The role of a tribunal is typically to determine an appeal against a decision of a Government Department. The number of tribunals illustrates the range of issues across which tribunals are engaged in decision making and include decisions on entitlement to social security benefits, children’s special education needs, rate determinations, values of land and buildings. The Industrial Tribunals and the Fair Employment Tribunal typically hear and determine disputes between employers and employees, prospective employers and employees and former employers and employees in relation to approximately 80 individual employment rights and related employment issues including unfair dismissal and discrimination.
Tribunals by their nature are intended to allow a citizen to directly participate in their appeal. We therefore recognise the importance of providing timely and useful information to appellants coming before a tribunal. The tribunal unlike a court is a panel of usually 3 members who bring their expertise to determining the decision. We are consequently conscious of the importance of facilitating training for tribunal judicial office-holders. (However, it is important to note that like the court judiciary, tribunal panel members are independent judicial office-holders.)
The majority of tribunals are administered by the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service (“the NICTS”) some on behalf of other departments.
The NICTS currently has responsibility for 14 tribunals including those which are administered on behalf of other Departments. Detailed information on each of the tribunals has been included in Part A of Annex A.
The NICTS plans to assume full responsibility for administration of all tribunals including those set out in Part B of Annex A. Consequently the period during which this Strategy and its Action Plan is live is a period of significant change for the NICTS and the tribunals we administer (the timetable for change is set out in Part C of Annex A). It is a challenge for us to ensure that our services to our users are not impacted by this changing environment but indeed the opportunity is taken to improve those services.
Our aim is at the end of this first transitional year to incorporate the Tribunals Strategy and Plan into that for the Courts and Tribunals Service to be issued in 2011.
The NICTS also administers, on behalf of the Lord Chancellor, UK wide tribunals which sit in Northern Ireland including the tax tribunals and asylum and immigration tribunals.
Our objective is that the NICTS will administer all tribunals sitting in Northern Ireland irrespective of whether the tribunal is part of the NI administration or not. This provides a member of the public access to a tribunal irrespective of its jurisdiction.
The NICTS is committed to delivering quality services. While we recognise that there will always be limitations to what we can do, there is considerable value in using the needs of those who use our services as the starting point for designing, delivering and evaluating our service.
This Modernisation Strategy outlines how we will establish the level of service we are presently providing and by listening to our users seek to identify new and better ways of delivering services in the future.
The delivery of this Modernisation Strategy will be overseen by an internal Board (Business Modernisation Board) chaired by the Director of NICTS.
The Strategy details the standards users can expect when they use our services; including
Our Modernisation Strategy builds on best practice and outlines how we improve access to better services. The Action Plan has been developed for the strategy period, approved by our Business Modernisation Board and communicated to users, tribunal members and staff.
The NICTS Corporate Plan for the 2008-2011 period identifies our Corporate aim:
“serving the Community through the Administration of Justice”
This is supported by the following strategic aims:
It is clear that underpinning all of the above is improving our services for the benefit of customers.
There are many projects and work streams associated with the delivery of these strategic aims. The Modernisation Strategy aims to bring together relevant and associated work in respect of improving our services under a number of headings
The Strategy also sets out how we plan to take account of our customers views so that they are at the centre of how we improve our services.
The Service is formally committed to the following organisational values:
We will continue to aspire to these values for this strategy period and beyond.
The NICTS is
“committed to providing an efficient, accessible, and quality service for all customers by listening and responding to their needs.”
Our customer service commitment is a tangible statement about our intentions and objectives for customer service. This commitment has been communicated to staff, tribunals, other Departments and user groups.
The purpose of this strategy is to:
This strategy covers all elements of the work of the tribunals that affect the tribunal users’ experience, these include:
We developed in consultation with relevant stakeholders performance standards for those tribunals we administer for the first time in 2009/10 and these were published in our Annual Plan. We want to build on this work; review those standards; put in place standards for tribunals we will assume responsibility for during the Strategy period. We recognise the needs of our users to have information in respect of the appeal process and are working with our judicial colleagues to provide standards and information in respect of the whole process.
We will seek opportunities to improve and modernise our business processes to make them more efficient and user focused. We will also work in partnership with relevant agencies to minimise waiting times and avoidable delays.
There is a significant degree of disparity between our existing tribunals ICT services. Some tribunals have developed bespoke Line of Business applications while others have only basic systems. The situation is not dissimilar to the fragmented landscape of the courts prior to the development of an integrated ICT line of business system (called ICOS Integrated Court Operations System). We will consider the benefits of an integrated ICT platform for all of our tribunals.
Our users can expect to find a consistently high standard at all tribunal venues and Customer Information Centre. All of our venues will provide a comfortable, clean and secure environment for all users that will also meet the specific needs of victims, children and persons with disabilities. The facilities which we are aspiring to provide include:
We are committed to delivering improvements in accommodation and facilities within the life of this Strategy.
We recognise that tribunal users have different needs and expectations and that we must provide services that meet these diverse needs. This will include improving our accessibility and ensuring that quality of service is maintained whether users choose telephone, text phone, e-mail, via the internet, or using the traditional methods of post or across the counter.
We also recognise that accessibility of information in a timely and user-friendly manner, including the resolution of routine queries, is important to our users. Tribunal information is available via our website, by e-mail, information leaflets and at each tribunal office.
The NICTS recognises and values the contribution of our staff in providing a high quality service for all users. Ensuring staff demonstrate organisational values, are competent, well motivated and equipped with the right skills and knowledge is an integral element of this strategy.
This commitment is supported by the learning solutions in the Corporate Learning Plan, the Performance Management System, and in adherence to Investor in People principles. Tribunal staff are also participating in the NICTS pilot of the “Courts and Tribunals Skills” NVQ training programme.
We aim to provide a consistent standard of service at all venues which meets the diverse needs of the range of tribunal users while ensuring legislative compliance and demonstrating good customer service practice.
For the purpose of this strategy we have defined our users in the widest sense; they typically include the general public, victims and witnesses, appellants / applicants, respondents, various professional bodies, statutory and non-statutory organisations and agencies including voluntary sector bodies providing advice to tribunal appellants.
We will seek the views of our users through a survey that is scheduled to take place during 2010/11. This survey will be informed by the pilot survey that was carried out in 2009.
We will use the extensive consultation forums that have already been established in the NICTS to inform our decision making, policies, procedures and service delivery. These include:
Our customer complaints process will be used as a means of gathering and monitoring information on service standards and delivery. The information gathered through the complaints process will be supported by information gathered from the network of Customer Service Officers who will be appointed at each tribunal venue.
We will work with the statutory and non-statutory organisations involved in the tribunals system to develop shared objectives and joined-up services, reduce delay and learn from good practice in other areas. We will meet regularly with first time decision making Departments, the voluntary sector and representatives from Victim Support. We shall continue to work with the statutory and non-statutory organisations who deliver services in tribunals to ensure protocols are observed and access to facilities and information are maintained.
The NICTS is committed to external assessment and review to ensure that our services are of a high standard and meet public service quality standards.
We are committed to achieving the Customer Service Excellence Standard, as a benchmark for customer service excellence and continuous improvement for our tribunal venues. We aim to submit a formal application for accreditation against the Customer Service Excellence Standard by 2013.
The NICTS has adopted Customer Service General Standards and we will also develop standards for key tribunal customers to inform them about what they can expect when they use our services and facilities. In developing these we will consult with key stakeholders to ensure that the standards are an accurate reflection of user needs. When developed, performance against these standards will be monitored quarterly and results displayed at each tribunal office.
The successful delivery of this strategy will be dependent on all staff at all levels within the tribunals working together to deliver the Action Plan and consistently and continuously delivering quality services in all user contacts.
As noted above the delivery of this strategy and the associated Action Plan will be overseen by an internal Board chaired by the Director (Business Modernisation Board).
During the last year we have delivered a number of service improvements with one of the most significant being the establishment of the Tribunals Hearing Centre (the “Hearing Centre”). The Hearing Centre is the first of its kind in Northern Ireland and is conveniently located in Belfast City Centre on the third floor of Bedford House. This “one stop shop” was opened on the 1st September 2009 and provides a single point of contact for members of the public using tribunals administered by the Court Service. The Hearing Centre also offers much improved facilities for users, staff, judiciary, and panel members.
As part of this project portable Digital Audio Recording (DAR) equipment was installed in the Hearing Centre. This technology offers superior quality sound recording and provides a more efficient system for storage and retrieval.
The Hearing Centre has two hearing rooms, one formal and one informal in layout. The latter has been specifically designed with a flexible layout to service all tribunals who avail of this hearing room. There is a retiring room available for the use of tribunal panel members. The formal hearing room and one of the consultation rooms is DDA compliant.
Some of the other service improvements that we have achieved in the last year include –
The Criminal Injuries Compensation (Northern Ireland) Order 2002 came into effect on 1 May 2002 and introduced the Northern Ireland Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2002 (the Scheme). It also made provision for the establishment of the CICAPNI, which acts totally independently of the Compensation Agency.
The purpose of the Appeals Panel is to support the victims of violent crime by determining promptly, impartially, fairly and independently in accordance with the Scheme(s), appeals against review decisions made by the Compensation Agency.
CICAPNI is currently situated in the Corn Exchange building in Belfast and is staffed by four Court Service staff and four staff on secondment from the NIO.
The Social Security Commissioners and Child Support Commissioners are specialised members of the judiciary appointed to hear and determine appeals on points of law from Appeal Tribunals under the Social Security and Child Support legislation.
The Social Security Commission deals with appeals for 30 different DHSS benefits. Usually the cases handled are appeals against the decisions made by the Appeals Tribunal. The Pensions Appeal Tribunal deals with appeals on the schemes that provide compensation for injuries in the Armed Forces.
OSSC and PAT are currently situated in the Tribunals Hearing Centre in Bedford House in Belfast and are staffed by seven Court Service staff including a Lawyer.
The TPT hears appeals against Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) issued by or behalf of the Roads Service. Penalty Charge Notices are issued against a person contravening a parking restriction. An Adjudicator, who is a qualified solicitor/barrister with at least five years' legal experience, sits to consider the issues relevant to each appeal and will then give a decision based on all the available facts. The decision of the Adjudicator is binding on both the person who is appealing and on the Roads Service.
The TPT is currently situated in the Tribunals Hearing Centre in Bedford House in Belfast and is staffed by one Court Service staff.
The NIVT hears appeals by home owners against their domestic rates which, for the first time in 2007, were based on the capital value of their property. The Tribunal also hears rate relief appeals, for example: when a review of a property with disabled facilities is disputed by the owner; when a student or young person disputes a review of entitlement to exemption; or when a lone pensioner disputes a review of entitlement to rebate.
The NIVT is currently situated in the Tribunals Hearing Centre in Bedford House in Belfast and is staffed by one Court Service staff.
The Charities Tribunals was established on 01 April 2010 and hears appeals from decisions made by the Charity Commission in respect of the registration of an organisation as a charity.
The Health and Safety Tribunal was established on 01 April 2010 and adjudicates on appeals relating to the issue of, condition applied to, or revocations of asbestos or petroleum-spirit licences.
The Lands Tribunal for Northern Ireland is a DFP tribunal and is an independent body which determines a wide range of questions relating to valuation of land, the discharge or variation of restrictive land obligations and disputed compensation on compulsory acquisition of land or the injury caused to land by, for instance, the making of roads.
The Care Tribunal is a DHSSPS tribunal and hears appeals against decisions prohibiting or restricting the employment of individuals teaching or working with children or working with vulnerable adults or decisions concerning the registration of social workers. The Tribunal also hears appeals against decisions relating to the regulation of residential care homes, nursing homes, children’s homes, nursing agencies and independent health care providers and later other care services.
The MHRT is a DHSSPS tribunal and is an independent judicial body, set up under the Mental Health (Northern Ireland) Order 1986 (the Order), which reviews the cases of patients who are compulsorily detained or are subject to guardianship under the Order.
The Tribunal’s function is to provide mentally disordered patients with a safeguard against unjustified detention in hospital or control under guardianship by means of a review of their cases from both the medical and non-medical points of view.
The Schedule 11 tribunal is a DHSSPS tribunal and to date this tribunal has never sat and currently has no staff allocated to its administration.
The SENDIST is a DE tribunal and considers parents’ appeals against the decisions of Education and Library Boards about children’s special educational needs, where the parents cannot reach agreement with the Board. It also deals with claims of disability discrimination in relation to children at school.
The Appeal Tribunal is an independent decision making body responsible for hearing appeals against Social Security Benefit decisions made by decision makers in the Social Security Agency, Inland Revenue, Northern Ireland Housing Executive, and the Land and Property Services of the Department for Finance and Personnel and decisions on Child Maintenance made by decision makers in Child Maintenance made by decision makers in Child Maintenance and Enforcement Division of the Department for Social Development. The Appeals Service provides administrative support to the Appeal Tribunal. The President’s Office provides administrative support to the President of Tribunals to carry out his statutory functions.
The Rent Assessment Panel is an independent body funded by the Department of Social Development. Its function is to determine appropriate rents for properties in the private renting sector that are:
The decision maker is the Rent Officer in DSD Housing; he/she determines the appropriate rent for a property and notifies parties of the outcome. The work of the Panel involves the physical inspection of properties whose rents are subject to appeal and often the committee will also be required to conduct a public hearing before its determination of an appropriate rent.
The ITFET are independent judicial bodies set up to hear and resolve certain matters of dispute in the employment field.
The Industrial Tribunal determines disputes between employers and employees, prospective employers and employees and former employers and employees in relation to approximately 80 individual employment rights and related employment issues including unfair dismissal, discrimination on grounds of age, family status, fixed term work, gender (including sex, pregnancy and maternity leave), gender reassignment, marital status, part-time working, race and sexual orientation, equal pay, redundancy, breach of contract and unlawful deduction of wages. The Fair Employment Tribunal hears and determines complaints of discrimination on the grounds of religious belief and/or political opinion.
The Commission receives financial and administrative support from OFMDFM its "sponsor" department. Although OFMDFM exercise some functions which may involve it appearing before the Commission, the Commission is wholly independent in terms of decision making and the operation of the appeals and inquiry/hearing process. PACWAC are located in Park House in Belfast.
The following table shows a timetable of when the Court Service took/ will take responsibility for the tribunals in Northern Ireland and includes details of the location of the tribunal and who the sponsoring Department is.
| Tribunal | Location | Department |
| Office of Social Security/Child Support Commissioners (OSSC) | Tribunals Hearing Centre, Bedford House | |
| Pensions Appeal Tribunal (PAT) | Tribunals Hearing Centre, Bedford House | |
| Northern Ireland Traffic Penalty Tribunal (TPT) | Tribunals Hearing Centre, Bedford House | DRD |
| Northern Ireland Valuation Tribunal (NIVT) | Tribunals Hearing Centre, Bedford House | DFP |
| Criminal Injuries Compensation Appeals Panel Northern Ireland (CICAPNI) | Corn Exchange | DOJ |
| Charities Tribunal | Tribunals Hearing Centre, Bedford House | DSD |
| Health and Safety Tribunals | Tribunals Hearing Centre, Bedford House | DETNI |
The administration of these tribunals transferred to the Court Service on 01 September 2009 and includes the following tribunals:
| Tribunal | Location | Department |
| Lands Tribunal | Royal Courts of Justice | DFP |
| Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (SENDIST) | Tribunals Hearing Centre, Bedford House | DE |
| Care Tribunal | Tribunals Hearing Centre, Bedford House | DHSSPS |
| Mental Health Review Tribunal (MHRT) | Tribunals Hearing Centre, Bedford House | DHSSPS |
| Tribunal under Schedule 11 of the HSS (NI) order 1972 (Schedule 11) | Tribunals Hearing Centre, Bedford House | DHSSPS |
The administration of these tribunals transferred to the Court Service on 01 April 2010 and includes the following tribunals:
| Tribunal | Location | Department |
| The Appeal Tribunal | Cleaver House, Belfast | DSD |
| Dublin Road, Omagh | ||
| Rent Assessment Panel (RAP) | Cleaver House |
The administration of these tribunals will transfer to the Court Service post devolution of justice and includes the following tribunals:
| Tribunal | Location | Department |
| Industrial and Fair Employment Tribunals (ITFET) | Killymeal House | DEL |
| Reserve Forces Reinstatement Committee and Reserve Forces Appeals Tribunal | Killymeal House | DEL |
| Planning Appeals Commission and Water Appeals Commission (PACWAC) | Park House | OFMDFM |