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

The noble Lord, Lord Henley, referred to the war pensions appeal tribunal being transferred eventually to the tribunals system. We supported the setting up of a separate chamber, but this is a slightly different situation. The Lands Tribunal is to be transported lock, stock and barrel to the Upper Tribunal, which I thought to be an appellate jurisdiction. There is provision in the Act for appeals from the Upper Tribunal to the Court of Appeal, but only on a point of law in restricted circumstances. Consequently, I was interested to note that on page 43 of the order there is a significant amendment to the rules on permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal and review. It is quite clear from this amendment to the rules that leave to appeal to the Court of Appeal is required and that an application for leave to appeal must identify the alleged error or errors of law in the decision and state the result that the person making the application receives. There is further provision in the amendment to the rules proposed in the order for the Upper Tribunal to review the decision that it has already made, so in effect it reviews its own decision. I should like an assurance from the Government on this. Should not applicants to the Lands Tribunal have a wider route to appeal than that? I think that there should have been an opportunity to appeal a Lands Tribunal decision on the merits of the case and not simply on a point of law. The distinction is important because, in a review of the merits, the Court of Appeal could overturn a decision of the Lands Tribunal; if it is merely a question of a point of law, an applicant needs to establish that the earlier decision is unlawful by reason either of case law or of some other statutory provision. Subject to that assurance from the Government, we will give this order a fair wind when it eventually comes before the whole House. If the Minister has no answer to my question at the moment, I would be grateful to hear from him in writing in due course.