moved Amendment No. 28:"After Clause 9, insert the following new clause—"
““THE CLAIMS MANAGEMENT SERVICES TRIBUNAL
(1) There shall be a tribunal to be known as the Claims Management Services Tribunal.
(2) The Tribunal shall be constituted as follows—
(a) members of the Financial Services and Markets Tribunal shall also be members of the Claims Management Services Tribunal,
(b) the President of the Financial Services and Markets Tribunal shall also act as President of the Claims Management Services Tribunal,
(c) the Deputy President of the Financial Services and Markets Tribunal shall also act as Deputy President of the Claims Management Services Tribunal, and
(d) the panel of chairmen of the Financial Services and Markets Tribunal shall also be the panel of chairmen of the Claims Management Services Tribunal.
(3) An appeal or reference to the Tribunal shall be heard by a member of the panel of chairmen—
(a) selected in accordance with arrangements made by the President, and
(b) sitting alone or, in accordance with those arrangements, with one or two members of the lay panel;
and a chairman who sits with one other member shall have a casting vote.
(4) The Lord Chancellor may make rules about the proceedings of the Tribunal; and the rules—
(a) shall include provision about timing of references and appeals,
(b) shall include provision for the suspension of decisions of the Regulator while an appeal could be brought or is pending,
(c) shall include provision about the making of interim orders,
(d) shall enable the Tribunal to suspend or further suspend (wholly or partly) the effect of a decision of the Regulator,
(e) shall permit the Regulator to apply for the termination of the suspension of a decision of his,
(f) may include provision about evidence,
(g) may include provision about any other matter of a kind for which rules under section 132 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (c. 8) (the Financial Services and Markets Tribunal) may make provision,
(h) may include transitional, consequential or incidental provision,
(i) may make provision generally or only for specified cases or circumstances,
(j) may make different provision for different cases or circumstances,
(k) shall be made by statutory instrument, and
(l) shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.
(5) The following provisions of Schedule 13 to the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 shall have effect, with any necessary modifications, in relation to the Claims Management Services Tribunal—
(a) paragraph 5 (remuneration and allowances),
(b) paragraph 6 (staff),
(c) paragraph 7(3) and (4) (composition),
(d) paragraph 8 (sittings),
(e) paragraph 10 (practice directions),
(f) paragraph 11 (evidence), and
(g) paragraph 12(1) to (3) (decisions).
(6) In Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the Tribunals and Inquiries Act 1992 (c. 53) (tribunals under supervision of Council) insert at the appropriate place—
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| ““Claims management services |
The Claims Management Services Tribunal established by the Compensation Act 2006.”” |
The noble Baroness said: My Lords, in moving Amendment No. 28 I shall speak also to Amendments Nos. 29, 41, 44 and 47. These amendments address an area of particular concern to the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee—namely, arrangements for appeals against decisions of the regulator. As I said in Grand Committee, it is important that any decisions which determine a person’s civil rights are subject to the safeguards guaranteed by Article 6.1 of the European Convention on Human Rights. I know that the noble Lord, Lord Goodhart, was also concerned about complaints handling, and I hope that these amendments will provide some reassurance.
Amendments Nos. 28 and 29 provide a mechanism for dealing with appeals. This will involve establishing a new tribunal in legislation, but we propose that its members should be the members of the Financial Services and Markets Tribunal, and that it should be administrated using the existing infrastructure. This will provide an efficient means of hearing what is likely to be a small number of appeals, making the best use of existing judicial and administrative resources. The purpose of the tribunal is both to act as a disciplinary tribunal to which the regulator refers an allegation of misconduct or breach of the rules, and to act as an appellate tribunal where an authorised person appeals against decisions of the regulator. Those decisions might be in respect of a refusal to a grant of authorisation; a grant of authorisation on terms or subject to conditions; the imposition of conditions on authorisation; or suspension or cancellation of authorisation
The amendments provide that the president, deputy president and members of the tribunal shall be the president, deputy president and members of the Financial Services and Markets Tribunal. There is also provision for the Lord Chancellor to make rules about the proceedings of the tribunal, which will be made subject to statutory instrument subject to the negative resolution procedure. The administration of the tribunal will be dealt with by the Tribunals Service which is being created as an executive agency of the Department for Constitutional Affairs in April 2006. Amendments Nos. 41, 44 and 47 are consequential amendments arising from the insertion of Amendments Nos. 28 and 29.
I am confident that these amendments provide a comprehensive mechanism for dealing with appeals against decisions of the regulator. I beg to move.