Have your say on the Courts and Tribunals Bill
28 November 2018
Do you have relevant expertise and experience or a special interest in the Courts and Tribunals (Judiciary and Functions of Staff) [Lords] Bill, which is currently passing through Parliament?
If so, you can submit your views in writing to the House of Commons Public Bill Committee which is going to consider this Bill.
The Public Bill Committee is now able to receive written evidence. The sooner you send in your submission, the more time the Committee will have to take it into consideration. The Committee will first meet on Tuesday 4 December 2018. It will stop receiving written evidence at the end of the Committee stage, which is expected to be not later than 5.00pm on Thursday 6 December 2018. However, please note that when the Committee concludes its consideration of the Bill it is no longer able to receive written evidence and it can conclude earlier than the expected deadline of 5.00pm on Thursday 6 December 2018.* |
* In the last Parliamentary Session, the following Public Bill Committees concluded their consideration of the Bill earlier than scheduled: Criminal Finances, Cultural Property (Armed Conflicts), Health Service Medical Supplies (Costs), Neighbourhood Planning, Savings (Government Contributions), Technical and Further Education, Commonwealth Development Corporation, Children & Social Work, National Citizen Service, and Bus Services.
Aims of the Bill
The Courts Bill as introduced is short, containing only four clauses and a Schedule. It makes three key changes:
- It makes it possible to deploy certain judicial office-holders with more flexibility throughout the courts and tribunals system than is presently allowed.
- It renames the "Chief Bankruptcy Registrar" as the "Chief Insolvency and Companies Court Judge" and makes it easier for similar judicial titles to be changed by delegated legislation.
- Overhauls the regulatory underpinning for delegating court functions from judges to certain court staff, and extends the availability of this delegation to the Crown Court.
The relevant documentation relating to the Bill, including the explanatory notes and impact assessments, can be found on the Parliamentary Bill page.
Follow the progress of the Courts and Tribunals (Judiciary and Functions of Staff) [Lords] Bill
The Bill has completed its passage through the House of Lords and was introduced in the House of Commons on 13 November 2018. It had its Second Reading in the House of Commons on 27 November 2018.
This Bill has now been committed to a Public Bill Committee which will hold its first meeting on Tuesday 4 December 2018.
Guidance on submitting written evidence
Deadline for written evidence submissions
The Public Bill Committee is now able to receive written evidence. The sooner you send in your submission, the more time the Committee will have to take it into consideration and possibly reflect it in an amendment. The order in which amendments are taken in Committee will be available in due course under Selection of Amendments on the Bill documents pages. Once the Committee has dealt with an amendment it will not revisit it.
The Committee is expected to meet for the first time on Tuesday 4 December 2018; it will stop receiving written evidence at the end of the Committee stage on Thursday 6 December 2018. Please note that when the Committee concludes its consideration of the Bill it is no longer able to receive written evidence and it can conclude earlier than the expected deadline of 5.00pm on Thursday 6 December 2018.
Your submission should be emailed to scrutiny@parliament.uk
Further guidance on submitting written evidence can be found here.
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