The New Care Standards Tribunal

Following the demise of the Registered Homes Tribunal a new tribunal has come into being, the Care Standards Tribunal. At the time of writing the new tribunal is awaiting finalisation of a fresh set of rules which had been out for consultation at the end of last year.

The Care Standards Tribunal is actually the same body as that provided under the Protection of Children Act but it's ambit of operation has been widened to hear appeals in England and Wales against:

Decisions of the National Care Standards Commission in England and decisions of the National Assembly for Wales (NAW) in respect of establishments and agencies;

Decisions of the Early Years Branch of Ofsted in England and decisions of the National Assembly for Wales in respect of the registration of childminders and day are providers for children under 8 years old;

Decisions of the National Care Standards Commission in England and the National Assembly for Wales (NAW) in respect of a refusal to waive disqualification relating to the provision of, management or financial involvement in, or employment in, a children's home under Section 65 of the Children Act 1989.

Decisions by the Secretary of State for Health in respect of inclusion on the list of those considered unsuitable to work with children;

Decisions by the Secretary of State for Education and Skills to prohibit or restrict employment of an individual in schools list 99);

Decisions of the Secretary of State for Health in respect of inclusion on the list of those considered unsuitable to work with vulnerable adults;

In due course the Care Standards Tribunal will be asked to handle other appeals and applications including in relation to the General Social Care Council, decisions of the Chief Inspector of Schools and decision of OFSTED.

With this wider range of responsibilities than that of the old Registered Homes Tribunal ("RHT") is likely to come a more "court like" set of procedural rules dealing in more detail with the manner in which cases are disposed of in contrast to the now almost defunct RHT rules (there are still RHT cases proceeding under the old rules due to the transitional provisions which deal with the disposal of cases pending before April this year) which were very brief and left most of the "mechanics" of hearing the cases to the discretion of the RHT itself which was authorised to regulate it's own proceedings.

The more important departures from the previous rules planned in the new set appear to be:

The determination of appeals without an oral hearing where requested by the appellant;

Preliminary hearings where the President or nominated chairman directs that there should be such a hearing or where either party (with the permission of the President) requests such a hearing; enabling the president or nominated chairman to find in favour of the opposing party where the other party fails to comply with his directions;

Enabling the President or nominated chairman to issue a costs warning before a hearing and the Tribunal to issue a costs order following a hearing where in his/their opinion the appeal has not hope of succeeding or where the party has acted unreasonably in bringing or conducting the appeal proceedings;

Presentation of evidence and particular provisions in relation to the giving of evidence by children and vulnerable adults;

Provision for the Tribunal to review its decision.

For the first time it will be noted costs can be awarded. However initially the rules are likely to provide for such awards to be a maximum of £500.

There will be different procedures for different types of matter intended to reflect the different nature of appeals and type of appellant between the various functions of the tribunal.