Courts and Tribunals Bill (Sixth sitting)

Melanie Ward Excerpts

Thursday 16th April 2026 Public Bill Committees

[Dr Mullan]

Perhaps the Minister is sincerely—not deliberately—misunderstanding the point I make.

[Melanie Ward (Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy) (Lab)]

She is being very clear.

[Dr Mullan]

Does the PPS want to intervene? No, I did not think so.

As we have agreed, judicial review exists for an allocation decision by the magistrates. The Minister has quite rightly set out that that is a very high bar and is not a right of appeal. In that regard, the Minister is fair to say that our amendment is not directly comparable. I put it to the Minister, and I made this point earlier, that it would be the Crown court making an allocation decision. It is not allowed, as it is in a magistrates court, to use judicial review to challenge a decision made, like at the PTPH, on allocation. That is an incredibly important point that all Members must understand. If the Minister is going to say that people are not allowed a general right of appeal—we do not agree with that, but it is a legitimate argument—that is one thing. But if the Minister is saying that people are going to lose the high bar of challenge that exists at the magistrates court, that is incredibly important. We need to understand that because, as I have said, it is a high bar, but it exists for a reason.