Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions Ministers in her Department have had regarding the capacity of the employment tribunal system to deal with cases arising in Scotland.

Ministers and officials engage regularly with HM Courts and Tribunals Service and judiciary regarding the capacity and performance of the ET in Scotland. We recognise receipts are rising and have recently recruited in Scotland two new salaried judges and five new fee paid judges.

Across the ET system we are maximising sitting days and expanding the use of remote hearings through a ‘virtual region’ to allow 2,000 sitting days annually without geographic limits. The Fair Work Agency (FWA) is part of wider work to strengthen enforcement of employment rights, the FWA now enforces rights including the National Minimum Wage and, in time, it will enforce additional rights including holiday pay.

The Department for Business & Trade (DBT) and the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) have set up the Dispute Resolution System Taskforce, including a wide range of stakeholder representatives, to support us in considering reforms in the employment dispute system so it works better for both workers and businesses.