Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the consultation on <i>Transforming our Justice System: panel composition in tribunals, </i>whether they intend to preserve the use of tripartite panels, including Service members, in War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Appeals.

The government is consulting on proposals to amend existing legislation to provide the Senior President of Tribunals with greater flexibility in his determination of panel composition in the unified tribunals, including the War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Tribunal.

We believe our proposals will lead to a more proportionate, targeted approach to panel composition, with non-legal members being used in cases where their knowledge or expertise is really needed.

Decisions on the composition of tribunal panels are, and will continue to be, made by the Senior President of Tribunals independently of my department.