TRIBUNALS TAKEN OVER LOCK, STOCK AND BARREL – MORE C-31 SURPRISES:
Tribunal funds to be transferred to “the Service”.
Tribunal budgets are to be subsumed in the Service’s Budget.
Chairs’ powers to control the expenditure of their budget would thus appear to be removed.
All employees of the tribunals are to become employees of the Service.
Chairs will no longer supervise or direct the duties of their tribunal’s staff, or supervise the management of the tribunal’s internal affairs.
Tribunal Chairs, Vice-Chairs, and Members appear to be among those who are now to “occupy their positions in the Service”.
The Service’s Chief Administrator is the Service’s Chief Executive Officer with the power and responsibility to control and manage [the Service] “and all matters connected to it”. (This is “surprising” only relative to the “position” of the tribunal chairs, vice-chairs and members “in the Service”.)
All documents required to be filed with a tribunal are now to be filed with the Service instead.
A Chair’s powers to engage experts with technical or special knowledge to assist their tribunal is to be removed and transferred to the Service’s Chief Administrator.
The Chief Administrator may delegate to any employee of the Service any of the powers,
duties, and functions conferred on the Chief Administrator.
(Since the CA is to be CEO of 10 tribunals as well as of the Service itself, one might anticipate the position of CEO of some of the tribunals being delegated to an employee of the Service.)
All existing contracts to which a tribunal or a Tribunal Chair is currently a party are to be transferred to the Service’s Chief Administrator. Future contracts are to be with the Chief Administrator not the tribunal or the tribunal chair.
All amounts payable or available to tribunals are now to be payable or available to the Service.
RE