Schedule 1 - Schedule A1 to the 1974 Act
Consumer Credit Bill
5:00 pm
Gerry Sutcliffe (Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Employment Relations and Consumer Affairs), Department of Trade and Industry; Bradford South, Labour)
Again, I am grateful for the hon. Gentleman's broad welcome for the setting up of the new tribunal. On the way the members are chosen, he is right to say that the Lord Chancellor has many friends, but the Lord Chancellor is subject to the same rules as anybody else. Members will be appointed by the Lord Chancellor in accordance with the qualifications stipulated in the schedule. Members of the panel of chairmen must have been qualified lawyers for at least seven years. Members of the lay panel must appear to the Lord Chancellor to be qualified by experience to deal with appeals made to the tribunal.
Members of the existing panel will be able to transfer to the new tribunal with the skills that they brought to the Secretary of State's panel. The provision for that is in paragraph 26 of schedule 3 and the normal remunerations would be made. Again, if the hon. Gentleman would like me to, I will set out in a letter the details such as the likely frequency of meetings. It will not be a full-time requirement and will be based on the number of members who are required to hear a case. That would have to be reviewed after a period of time, depending on the number of cases and the number of issues to be dealt with. I will let the Committee have the details. With those explanations, I hope that the Committee will support the schedule.
Question put and agreed to.
Schedule, as amended, agreed to.