Draft Regulations regarding the transfer of the Police Appeals Tribunal to the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland

Closed 22 Jan 2025

Opened 30 Oct 2024

Contact

Tribunals.Policy@gov.scot

Feedback updated 14 Mar 2025

We asked

We asked for your views on a set of draft regulations to transfer the Police Appeals Tribunal (PAT) into the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland. The consultation asked ten questions around various proposals regarding the transfer of the PAT. The questions asked were a mix of open and closed questions. The consultation opened on 30 October 2024 and ran until 22 January 2025.

You said

There were seven responses to the consultation. Six (86%) came from organisations and one (14%) came from an individual. There was strong support for some of the proposals such as the procedure for the notice of appeal to be submitted followed by a reply from the respondent and for the routes of onward appeal from the PAT. There was broad support offered for proposals around the potential payment of expenses and the publication of decisions. Respondents to these questions agreed with these proposals but suggested that matters such as the circumstances of each case and data privacy concerns should be important considerations.

There was mixed support for the proposed membership of the PAT. Three responses were in favour of maintaining the current membership arrangements of three legal members while three responses felt there should be members with policing and lay experience.

The response to the open questions gave helpful feedback on some of the technical provisions within the draft regulations or made more general suggestions around clarifying certain procedure rules and the effect of recent primary legislation. There was also support for some of the general practices of the First-tier Tribunal, for example, the role of supporters, being included in the Procedure Rules.

We did

The views given on the proposed draft regulations will be used to inform the process of finalising the set of draft regulations regarding the transfer of the PAT. We will consider carefully all of the points raised when finalising the draft regulations.

We are grateful for the detailed responses to many of the questions and would like to thank everyone who responded. We have published the nonconfidential responses to the consultation (see links below).

View submitted responses where consent has been given to publish the response.

The full government consultation response has been published on the gov.scot website: Police Appeals Tribunal - transfer to First-tier Tribunal for Scotland: consultation analysis and response.

Published responses

View submitted responses where consent has been given to publish the response.

Overview

We want to hear your views on the proposed transfer of the functions and members of the current Police Appeals Tribunal into the Scottish Tribunals structure. It is proposed that the existing Police Appeals Tribunal will be transferred to the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland General Regulatory Chamber, with a further right of appeal in certain circumstances to the Upper Tribunal for Scotland. 

The Tribunals (Scotland) Act 2014 ("the 2014 Act") creates a new, simplified statutory framework for tribunals in Scotland, bringing existing tribunal jurisdictions together and providing a structure for new jurisdictions. The 2014 Act includes powers allowing Ministers to make regulations to transfer the functions and members of a listed tribunal into the new structures. The 2014 Act created the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland ("First-tier Tribunal") and the Upper Tribunal for Scotland ("Upper Tribunal"), known collectively as the Scottish Tribunals.  The First-tier Tribunal is divided into chambers with regard to subject matter and other relevant factors.  

The existing Police Appeals Tribunal is a listed tribunal and it is proposed to transfer its functions and members and allocate these to the General Regulatory Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland.

Read the consultation paper. The consultation paper contains full background information for this consultation. You may find it useful to read or refer to while responding.

Useful information about responding to this consultation

As you complete your response, each page will provide the option to 'Save and come back later' at the bottom. This means you can save your progress and return to the consultation at any time before it closes. If you don't use this feature and leave the consultation midway through, your response will be lost.

Once you have submitted your response, you can enter your email address to get a pdf copy of your answers sent to you.

On the 'About You' page at the end of this consultation, organisations will have the opportunity to tell us more about their work and/or how their response was informed.

After the consultation has closed there will be a few months delay before any responses are published. This is because we must check any responses to be published abide by our Terms of Use.

A analysis report will usually be published some months after the consultation has closed. This report will summarise the findings based on all responses submitted. It will be published on the Scottish Government website and you may be notified about it if you choose to share your email address with us. You can also join our consulation mailing list where we regularly list newly published analysis reports (as well as new consultations).

Why your views matter

The intention is for the current Police Appeals Tribunal to be transferred into the Scottish Tribunals structure. It is intended that appeals at first instance will be heard in the General Regulatory Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal, with a right of appeal to the Upper Tribunal under certain circumstances.

As part of that process we are seeking views on the regulations transferring the functions to the Scottish Tribunals, the composition of the First-tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal and the procedural rules prescribing the practice and procedure to be followed in proceedings.

What happens next

Where respondents have given permission for their response to be made public, and after we have checked that they contain no potentially defamatory material, responses will be made available to the public at https://consult.gov.scot/ 

If you use Citizen Space to respond, you will receive a copy of your response via email.

Following the closing date, all responses will be analysed and considered along with any other available evidence to help us. Responses will be published where we have been given permission to do so.

Interests

  • Law and Order
  • Main hub