Clause 4
Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Bill
9:15 am
Simon Hughes (Shadow Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs & Shadow Attorney General, Constitutional Affairs; North Southwark and Bermondsey, Liberal Democrat)
In that case, I stand corrected; but the general point holds. We are having a two-tier system—that has been agreed by the Committee and it is sensible. The Tribunals Service is meant to be less formal. There is a strong case for having a perfectly proper and respectable title at the lower level, but something other than “judge”. Some people are not legally qualified, which is perfectly acceptable. The title of chair of an employment, industrial or social security tribunal and so on seems entirely appropriate. I would be interested to hear what assessment has been made of the benefit of a more legal title at the lowest level.