As the Sixth Senedd comes to an end, reform of the Welsh Tribunals remains unfinished business.
Despite commitments made by the Welsh Government, legislation was not introduced to deliver the reforms. Instead, it will be for the next Welsh Government to decide whether to bring forward a Bill.
This article looks at the arguments put forward for reform of the Tribunals and the 2023 white paper proposals made by the Welsh Government, and the delay to legislation.
What are the Welsh Tribunals and who is the President?
The Welsh Tribunals are the only judicial bodies administered by the Welsh Government. A tribunal is a body that settles disputes, often following the decision of a public body. There are currently six Welsh Tribunals that cover areas such as mental health, education and agriculture.
The Wales Act 2017 created the role of the President of Welsh Tribunals. Sir Gary Hickinbottom was appointed in 2023. The President has a supervisory role over all the Welsh Tribunals. Each tribunal also has its own judicial lead and members. The tribunals have a range of different responsibilities. Together, they deal with about 2,000 applications every year.
More information about the Welsh Tribunals can be found in this Senedd Research article.
Why do they need to be reformed?
The six devolved tribunals in Wales cover a wide range of policy areas, with most of them pre-dating devolution. The Welsh Tribunals are mainly governed by their original legislation and there are inconsistencies and variation in their processes and procedures.
The Law Commission for England and Wales undertook a review of the Welsh Tribunals,. It reported in December 2021. It was asked by the Welsh Government to consider matters relating to a new Tribunals Bill to regulate the operation of a single system of tribunals in Wales.
The Law Commission recommended that the Welsh tribunals should be replaced by a single ‘First-tier Tribunal for Wales’, which would be sub-divided into chambers. The Law Commission said this would provide greater coherence between the tribunals, grow the public profile of the devolved tribunals and enable them to respond to future developments. Each of these ‘chambers’ would have its own specialised area of responsibility, reflecting the current range of the Welsh Tribunals.
A similar programme of reform took place in Scotland in 2014, establishing the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland and the Upper Tribunal for Scotland to hear appeals on decisions of the chambers of the First-tier Tribunal.
What are the Welsh Government’s proposals for reform?
In response to the Law Commission’s report, the Welsh Government published a white paper on Tribunal Reform in June 2023. This set out the government’s proposals to reform the tribunals and to create a ‘First-tier Tribunal for Wales’ as recommended by the Law Commission with sub-divided chambers. It also proposed the establishment of an Appeal Tribunal for Wales to hear appeals made against decisions of each chamber. In the ministerial foreword to the White Paper, the then Counsel General said that this would be the first time in Welsh legal history that there would be an Appeal Tribunal for Wales.
The Welsh Government stated that while the tribunal system in Wales provides a “commendable service” to the people of Wales, the legislative frameworks which underpin it are “outdated, inflexible and lack coherence”. It added that:
A clearer, simpler, more effective and coherent way of operating Wales’ tribunal system is essential to the cause of delivering justice for the people of Wales
The proposed reforms have received strong support from the President of Welsh Tribunals, who has said they are “vital to the progress of an efficient and effective justice system in Wales”.
The Welsh Government had previously committed in 2022 to introduce a Bill to reform the Welsh tribunal system in this Senedd term, but this has not been brought forward. In his latest annual report, the President of Welsh Tribunals said that “like most of those involved in tribunals in Wales, I am disappointed”.
When will legislation be introduced?
Instead, the Welsh Government has said that it will prepare legislation for the next government to introduce after the Senedd election in May. In it’s response to the President of Welsh Tribunals’ annual report, the Counsel General and Minister for Delivery, Julie James MS, said that there was “much competition” for space in the government’s legislative programme for the final year of the Senedd term and that the government had to make “difficult choices”.
She added that work on drafting a Bill is “well advanced” and that she is confident that the support in the current Senedd for reform of the Tribunals will continue into the next one.
The Welsh Government has also said progress was affected because resources had to be diverted to support the passing of the Mental Health Review Tribunal for Wales (Membership) Act 2026 in January.
In its legacy report, the Senedd’s Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee said that it shares the President’s disappointment that a Bill has not been introduced in this Senedd term. The Committee is encouraging the committee with responsibility for justice matters in the Seventh Senedd to seek an update from the new Welsh Government on the timeline for introducing a Bill as a matter of urgency.
Article by Josh Hayman, Senedd Research, Welsh Parliament