Poor decision-making by public bodies causes ‘avoidable disputes’ that put ‘systemic strain on tribunals, charities and public services’, according to an expert report on administrative justice. Hundreds of thousands of people use tribunals every year to challenge decisions on matters such as special educational needs and disability, benefits assessments, immigration and asylum, healthcare and housing.
A working group of the Administrative Justice Council – the body that advises ministers and judges – said last week that the number could be cut by improving initial decision-making to avoid the growing number of disputes.
Over three years, the group, chaired by tribunal judge and former Law Society president Lucy Scott-Moncrieff, explored the barriers faced by individuals seeking to challenge decisions. Its report concludes: ‘By far the most efficient and cost-effective way of removing barriers to justice would be to improve the quality of administrative decision-making so that the need for a challenge in order to secure justice does not arise in the first place.’
Poor decision-making can ‘significantly drive up the cost of legal advice and services due to increased demand for legal aid and potential challenges to those decisions,’ the report states. This creates a vicious cycle where inadequate initial decisions lead to more complex and costly legal processes.
The working group heard evidence from legal advisers – one of who suggested that the Home Office should be penalised for ‘clogging up the system with awful decisions’. They added that the system ‘is currently stacked in favour of the [Home Office] and vulnerable appellants are at a huge disadvantage, particularly when unrepresented, but even if they have legal representatives’.
The report also highlights the ‘many failed opportunities’ that the Department for Work and Pensions has to correct decisions that are eventually overturned by the tribunal.
Its authors suggest that addressing the root causes of these issues through better training, improved processes, and clearer communication would help reduce the volume of legal challenges and ultimately lower costs. They also recommended a mechanism to provide better feedback from the tribunals to decision-makers whose decisions are being successfully challenged to identify ‘systemic failings’ that are causing ‘avoidable harm’ to individuals, increasing the demand for advice and costs to the justice system.
Elsewhere, the report raises concerns about ‘opaque, intimidating and complex’ tribunal and ombudsman process and procedures. It states that a ‘lack of legal awareness and legal knowledge’ presents a barrier to many individuals, who ‘do not recognise their problems as legal in nature, are unaware of their rights, do not know that redress is possible and do not know where to start’. This is ‘particularly acute for those facing multiple and interrelated problems’.
‘Far too frequently, the system is unfair to those who cannot use it effectively,' the report states. Even when an individual has identified their problem as legal, accessing legal advice is ‘challenging,’ due to the ‘fragmented services’ caused by the lack of legal aid and funding for the advice sector. Many of the problems were exacerbated for those with particular vulnerabilities, due to health conditions, disabilities or because they do not speak English or had other communication difficulties.
The report comes as the justice system continues to suffer serious delays. It cites government figures for the first quarter of 2025 showing the number of cases received by tribunals was 11% higher than in the previous year, while the number of cases disposed of has fallen by 9%. In some tribunals, the length of time taken for cases to be resolved has reached 50 weeks.
Among its 11 recommendations, the report calls for increased funding for the advice sector, better co-ordination between services, and the embedding of legal advice in community settings, such as libraries and GP surgeries. It highlights the need for clear guidance on tribunal processes and ombudsman schemes, in plain English and translated into other languages. It also calls for increased funding, including for legal aid.
Other recommendations include the proposal that parties – claimants and respondents – collaborate to minimise delay and ensure cases are fully prepared by the first hearing, and increased collaboration between ombudsman schemes and tribunals.
Speaking at the report launch, Lord Justice Dingemans, the senior president of tribunals and chair of the Administrative Justice Council, said: ‘The report is for everyone who plays a part in the system – appellants, respondents, advice providers, (who are particularly important in tribunals), ombudsmen, the judiciary and government’. He hopes the ‘succinct and clear’ recommendations ‘will be reflected on by all those with the power to bring them into force’.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: 'This government inherited a justice system in crisis and a soaring tribunals backlog. We’re investing in the recruitment of up to 1,000 judges and tribunal members this year across the courts and tribunals and injecting an additional £20 million a year into immigration and housing legal aid.'
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