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

tribunal A tribunal, generally, is any person or institution with authority to judge, adjudicate on, or determine claims or disputes—whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title. For example, an advocate who appears before a court with a singl ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. It was created by the

Tribunals (Scotland) Act 2014 The Tribunals (Scotland) Act 2014 is an Act of the Scottish Parliament passed in October 2014 to improve access to the civil justice system and while making the Court of Session a place for the more complex cases. History The Bill was passed by ...

, which aimed to create a simplified structure for tribunals in Scotland, amalgamating the functions of several tribunals into one. The

Lord President of the Court of Session The Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General () is the most senior judge in Scotland, the head of the judiciary, and the presiding judge of the College of Justice, the Court of Session, and the High Court of Justiciary. ...

, 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 The President of the Scottish Tribunals is a senior judge in Scotland who presides over the Scottish tribunal system. They are appointed by the Lord President of the Court of Session, who delegates his function as head of the Scottish tribu ...

, currently Lady Wise. It is administered by the

Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) () is an independent Public bodies of the Scottish Government, public body which is responsible for the administration of the Courts of Scotland, courts and tribunals of Scotland. The Service is ...

Chambers and Jurisdiction

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

Future planned jurisdiction

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.

Relation with the UK-wide First-tier Tribunal

The UK-wide

First-tier Tribunal The First-tier Tribunal is a first-instance general tribunal in the United Kingdom. It was created in 2008 as part of a programme, enacted in the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, to rationalise the tribunal system, and has since t ...

exercises many similar functions to the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland, although the two are entirely separate. Decisions made by

UK Government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

bodies are only by heard by the UK-wide FTT, for instance benefits awarded by the

Department for Work and Pensions The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for welfare spending, welfare, pensions and child maintenance ...

, whilst decisions made by

Scottish Government The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in ...

bodies are only heard by the FtTfS.

Appeal

Decisions of the various chambers of the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland may be made to the Upper Tribunal for Scotland."Upper Tribunal for Scotland
Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service An appeal may only be made to the with the permission of the FtTfS or the UTfS.

References

{{Public bodies of the Scottish Government Courts of Scotland Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service Legal organisations based in Scotland Tribunals of the Scottish Government