Tribunals (Scotland) Act 2014 - draft regulations: consultation

Part 3: Draft regulations transferring in the functions of the Valuation Appeals Committees to the new Local Taxation Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland

45. Section 28(2) of the 2014 Act provides the power for the Scottish Ministers to make regulations to transfer the functions of the listed tribunals in Schedule 1 of the 2014 Act, to the First-Tier Tribunal only; the Upper Tribunal only; or to the First-tier Tribunal and the Upper Tribunal.

Valuation Appeals Committees (VACs)

46. A VAC is already listed as a Tribunal in Schedule 1 of the Tribunals (Scotland) Act 2014 whose functions may be transferred to the First-tier Tribunal.

47. The transfer is seen as an opportunity for greater transparency and consistency of practice. It would have been operationally challenging to deliver the original transfer date of April 2022 due to, for instance, the decision to set up a standalone chamber. It is therefore proposed that the functions of the VACs should be transferred to the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland on 1 January 2023 and that those functions should be allocated to a new Local Taxation Chamber.

48. Upon transfer the existing VACs in their current form will be abolished and thereafter matters under their jurisdiction will be heard by the First-tier Tribunal.

49. The JABS will be asked to recruit members with legal and surveyor rating experience, as well as members with valuation experience. It is considered preferable that members of the same chamber are recruited using the same criteria, and accordingly existing members and secretaries of the VACs will not automatically transfer to the Scottish Tribunals, though they will be able to apply for appointment through the JABS. A consultation on the regulations setting out the eligibility criteria for members with valuation experience and surveyor rating experience was undertaken with key stakeholders in July 2021.

See supporting documents for associated regulations.

Questions on Draft Regulations

Q2: Do you have any comments on the draft regulations relating to the proposed transfer of functions of the VACs to the First-tier Tribunal in Annex B?