First-tier Tribunal for Scotland

Established2014

JurisdictionScotland

LocationMultiple

Authorised byCourts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014

First-tier Tribunal for Scotland
Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom as used in Scotland
Established	2014
Jurisdiction	Scotland
Location	Multiple
Authorised by	Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014
Appeals to	Upper Tribunal for Scotland
Website	www.scotcourts.gov.uk
President of the Scottish Tribunals
Currently	Lady Wise
Since	5 April 2023

The First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (FtTfS) is a first-instance general tribunal in Scotland.

It was created by the Tribunals (Scotland) Act 2014, which aimed to create a simplified structure for tribunals in Scotland, amalgamating the functions of several tribunals into one.^[1]

The Lord President of the Court of Session, as head of the judiciary in Scotland, is responsible for the First-Tier Tribunal for Scotland. Some of the Lord President's functions in relation to tribunals have been delegated to the President of the Scottish Tribunals, currently Lady Wise. ^[2]

It is administered by the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service.

Future planned jurisdiction

The First-tier Tribunal for Scotland currently (as of 2023) consists of six chambers, each with a Chamber President: ^[3]

Chamber	Chamber president	Function	Inherited from	References
General Regulatory Chamber	Alexander Green	Hearing appeals against decisions of the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator.	Scottish Charity Appeals Panel	^[4]
		Hearing appeals against the issuing of parking Penalty Charge Notices.	Parking and Bus Lane Appeal Tribunal for Scotland	^[5]
		Hearing appeals against the issuing of unlawful bus lane use Penalty Charge Notices.	Aberdeen City Council, Edinburgh City Council and Glasgow City Council.	^[5]
Health and Education Chamber	May Dunsmuir	Disputes concerning pupils with additional support needs.	Additional Support Needs Tribunals for Scotland	^[6]
Housing and Property Chamber	Aileen Devanny	Hearing appeals by the landlord or tenant against the determination of a Rent Officer, applications for rent determinations by tenants holding statutory Assured or Short Assured tenancies, and applications for a determination of terms by a landlord or tenant within the first year of the creation of a statutory assured tenancy.	Private Rented Housing Panel	^[7]
		Determining applications from homeowners in relation to disputes between them and their property factor in relation to the property factors’ statutory duties and compliance with the Property Factors' Code of Conduct.	Homeowner Housing Panel
		Civil cases relating to the private rented sector.	Sheriff court
Social Security Chamber	Andrew Veitch (temporary)	Hearing appeals in relation to social security benefits which are awarded by Social Security Scotland.	N/A	^[8]
Tax Chamber	Anne Scott	Hearing appeals in relation to the devolved Scottish taxes administered by Revenue Scotland.	N/A	^[9]
Local Taxation Chamber	Jacqui Taylor (temporary)	Appeals in relation to council tax and non-domestic rates.	Local authorities	^[10]

As of 2023, is planned that the Health and Education chamber will inherit the jurisdictions of the NHS National Appeal Panel for Entry to the Pharmaceutical Lists and the NHS Tribunal for Scotland in the future. ^[11]

Relation with the UK-wide First-tier Tribunal

The UK-wide First-tier Tribunal exercises many similar functions to the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland, although the two are entirely separate.

Decisions made by UK Government bodies are only by heard by the UK-wide FTT, for instance benefits awarded by the Department for Work and Pensions,^[12] whilst decisions made by Scottish Government bodies are only heard by the FtTfS.

First-tier Tribunal for Scotland

Future planned jurisdiction

Relation with the UK-wide First-tier Tribunal

Appeal

References

Related Articles

Timelines

Top Qs

Fact Checks