Skip to main content

Armed Forces: Pensions

Volume 703: debated on Tuesday 22 July 2008

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What representations the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice, Ms Bridget Prentice, has received from the Confederation of British Ex-service Organisations (COBSEO) on the future of the Pensions Appeal Tribunal; and what response they are sending to COBSEO. [HL4865]

The Confederation of British Ex-service Organisations has welcomed many of the proposals we are making for the future of the Tribunals Service, including better geographical access to the full network of Tribunals Service hearing centres for Pensions Appeal Tribunal appellants.

It has concerns with the proposal that the Pensions Appeal Tribunal will transfer into a Social Entitlement Chamber, within the new structure enabled by the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act. As such, the office for my honourable friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, has approached the organisation and offered to meet to discuss in detail the concerns it has.