I have today laid before Parliament the Annual Report and Accounts for the Tribunals Service covering the period for financial year 2006-07.

Tribunals are a vitally important part of our legal system, providing access to justice for a large community of users across a wide range of issues, from employment disputes and entitlement, to benefits to asylum and immigration rights. The Tribunals Service has created a new unified administration for the system, bringing tribunals together as an integrated part of our justice system, with the aim of making them more obviously independent and easier for the citizen to use. This first Annual Report sets out its progress over the first year of operation in developing plans to thoroughly modernise the way those services are provided.

Copies of the Report have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses. The Report is also available on the Tribunals Service website at www.tribunals.gov.uk/publications.htm/.