Transfer of Tribunal Functions (Lands Tribunal and Miscellaneous Amendments) Order 2009

I thank my noble friend for the question. The order provides for the transfer of existing Lands Tribunal judges and members as judges and members of the Upper Tribunal. As I said, this is essential for continuity. The Senior President of Tribunals has produced a practice statement on the composition of the Upper Tribunal hearing cases in the Lands Chamber. It sets out that those hearing land cases must be either a judge of the Upper Tribunal who has been assigned by the Senior President of Tribunals to the Lands Chamber or other members with surveyor qualifications as set out in the qualifications order. These measures will ensure that those sitting on the tribunal have the relevant expertise to hear land cases. As I mentioned, the order provides for the transfer of existing tribunal judges and members into the new system. The present surveyor members of the Lands Tribunal will be transferred into the new chamber. Circuit judges or other Upper Tribunal judges with the necessary expertise will also be able to hear cases. Under the provisions of the Act, judges and members can be invited to sit in another jurisdiction, but that will happen only if the individual has the necessary qualification, is acceptable to the chamber president, has undertaken any necessary training and there is a business need. Rules for the new tribunals structure can be made by the Tribunal Procedure Committee, which was created under the Act. Rules are in place for each of the chambers of the First-tier Tribunal and the Upper Tribunal that have already come into effect. For the jurisdictions that have already transferred into the new system, these new rules have replaced the rules that applied in the previous tribunals. However, unlike the approach taken in previous orders under the Act, the approach of this order is to retain the existing Lands Tribunal rules, amending them to the extent necessary to bring them into line with the new tribunals structure. This will enable the existing rules to apply to the Lands Chamber of the Upper Tribunal at commencement. This approach has the support of the Senior President of Tribunals. It is an interim measure and the aim is to have rules made by the Tribunal Procedure Committee to apply to the Lands Chamber in due course. This will be achieved through the Tribunal Procedure Committee making further rules, on which there will be consultation later this year. We are also making provision for the current fee structure for Lands Tribunal work to apply to appeals in the new chamber once the transfer takes effect. This is being done in a separate order, subject to the negative procedure. The approach that we have adopted means that stakeholders and users of the Lands Tribunal will see little change to procedure when the transfer takes place. While it will not be the formal title, the Lands Tribunal name will be retained for the time being in order to ensure continuity. We have not therefore conducted a separate consultation on this transfer, although we have kept stakeholders and users informed of progress via correspondence and the internet. The Transfer of Tribunal Functions (Lands Tribunal and Miscellaneous Amendments) Order 2009 effects the transfer of the Lands Tribunal into the Upper Tribunal established under Section 3 of the Act. Transitional provisions in the order ensure that cases currently heard by the Lands Tribunal will not be adversely affected by the transfer. A hearing that has commenced but not completed will be completed in the Upper Tribunal comprising the same members. Directions and orders made prior to this order coming into force will continue in force as if they were directions or orders of the Upper Tribunal. In addition, the order contains various minor, consequential and transitional provisions in respect of the transfers. Article 2 effects the transfer of the functions of the Lands Tribunal to the Upper Tribunal and abolishes the Lands Tribunal. Article 3 provides for members of the Lands Tribunal to be transferred to hold offices in the Upper Tribunal. Where the original office has not been abolished, the office holders will hold both the new and the old office. Articles 4 and 5 provide for consequential amendments to primary and secondary legislation and church measures. These are mainly set out in Schedules 1 to 3. However, Article 5 also makes global changes to references to the Lands Tribunal in local and private Acts and in a certain type of local order relating to transport. The order also provides for minor amendments that do not relate to the transfer of the Lands Tribunal. These amend legislation as a consequence of the earlier transfers or in relation to the implementation of other provisions of the 2007 Act. The Government are committed to ongoing transformation of our tribunals, placing the user at the very heart of the service. The new system will have greater flexibility in absorbing new work or responding to fluctuations. The order, which I commend to the Committee, is another significant step towards achieving that. I beg to move.