Open - Scottish Government

Consultation on the Scottish
Government’s Proposals for a
New Tribunal System for
Scotland
British Psychological Society response to
the Scottish Government
June 2012

About the British Psychological Society
The British Psychological Society, incorporated by Royal Charter, is the learned and
professional body for psychologists in the United Kingdom. We are a registered charity with a
total membership of almost 50,000.
Under its Royal Charter, the objective of the British Psychological Society is "to promote the
advancement and diffusion of the knowledge of psychology pure and applied and especially to
promote the efficiency and usefulness of members by setting up a high standard of professional
education and knowledge".
We are committed to providing and disseminating evidence-based expertise and advice,
engaging with policy and decision makers, and promoting the highest standards in learning and
teaching, professional practice and research.
The British Psychological Society is an examining body granting certificates and diplomas in
specialist areas of professional applied psychology.
Publication and Queries
We are content for our response, as well as our name and address, to be made public. We are
also content for the the Scottish Government to contact us in the future in relation to this
consultation response. Please direct all queries to:-
Consultation Response Team, The British Psychological Society,
48 Princess Road East, Leicester, LE1 7DR.
Email: consult@bps.org.uk Tel: (0116) 252 9508
About this Response
This response was prepared for the British Psychological Society by Dr Gary MacPherson,
CPsychol, CSci, AFBPSS, member of the Division of Clinical Psychology in Scotland (DCP-S),
the Division of Forensic Psychology in Scotland (DFP-S), the Faculty for Children and Young
People in Scotland, and the Faculty of Clinical Heath Psychology (FCHP); and Dr Ruth Stocks,
CPsychol, committee member and commenting on behalf of the DCP-S, member of the
DFP-S, and member of the Leadership and Management Faculty, with contributions from Mark
Ramm, committee member and commenting on behalf of the DCP-S, and member of both the
DFP-S, and the Faculty of Forensic Clinical Psycology.
We hope you find our comments useful.
David J Murphy CPsychol
Chair, Professional Practice Board
Bridget Hanna CPsychol, CSci, AFBPsS
Scottish Branch Committee Member
New Tribunal System for Scotland (S)
British Psychological Society response, June, 2012
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Response
The British Psychological Society (BPS) thanks the Scottish Government for the opportunity to
respond to this consultation.
Question 1: Should the distinctive tribunals system be capable of reconsidering
decisions and hearing appeals and, if so, what grounds of appeal from the First-tier
Tribunal to the Upper-tier should be allowed?
Comments:
Part a:
Yes. The BPS believes that the tribunal system should operate in a way which means that,
whenever possible, a dispute should be resolved at the 1st tier. With mental health
tribunals, this means that disputes can be dealt with by appropriately qualified experts. It is
also likely to mean that disputes are dealt with more quickly, which is of benefit to people
with mental health problems, who may experience significant distress during prolonged
appeal processes.
Part b:
The BPS has no comment to make.
Question 2: Which functions of judicial leadership in the tribunals system should be
exercised by the Lord President, the President of Scottish Tribunals and the Chamber
Presidents, respectively?
Comments:
The BPS has no comment to make.
Question 3: Should any restrictions be placed on the ability of an appointed member
to sit and hear cases in a chamber other than the chamber of their primary
assignment? If so, what restrictions?
Comments:
With respect to ‘cross-ticketing’, we believe that mental health tribunals should always
include a medical member and a lay member who has recognised professional or personal
expertise with regard to mental health issues.
If legal members whose primary assignment is not to the mental health tribunal chamber are
to sit on mental health tribunals, it will be important to ensure that they have appropriate
expertise (e.g. in mental health law, in mental health presentations, and in how to
communciate with people who suffer from mental health problems or learning disabilities)
and have attended relevant tribunal training.
We recommend that guidance on the required competences should be provided to those
making decisions regarding cross-ticketing to mental health tribunals.
New Tribunal System for Scotland (S)
British Psychological Society response, June, 2012
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Question 4: Is this the most appropriate option for judicial remuneration and if not,
what other options are there to remunerate fairly the judicial members of the Scottish
tribunal system?
Comments:
The BPS has no comment to make.
Question 5: How should procedural rules for the new tribunal system be made?
Comments:
The BPS has no comment to make.
Question 6: What issues/opportunities do the proposed changes raise for people with
protected characteristics (e.g. age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or
belief, sex and sexual orientation) and what action could be taken to mitigate the
impact of any negative issues or to capitalise upon opportunities?
Comments:
The BPS believes that the service to these users should remain unaffected and should be
consistent with what is in place at present. As mentioned above, legal members asked to sit
on mental health tribunals through the cross-ticketing arrangement (whose primary
assignment is not to the mental health chamber) should have the competences to
communicate effectively and understand the presentations of people with mental health
problems or learning disabilities.
End
New Tribunal System for Scotland (S)
British Psychological Society response, June, 2012
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