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VALUATION TRIBUNALS IN WALES REORGANISATION
Consultation Paper issued September 2008 by Welsh Assembly Government
The Valuation Tribunals oppose the proposed introduction of a single Valuation Tribunal for Wales (ie to a single Judicial Platform) and the Governing Council has drafted a detailed response having liaised with the Membership of the individual Tribunals.
Please follow this link to download a PDF version of the Governing Council's full response 
Consultation Paper Response
Objections to the proposed reorganisation include:
- The four Valuation Tribunals in Wales became a single administrative unit in 2006, an initiative prompted by the Valuation Tribunals themselves which demonstrated the VT services’ proactive stance.
- It was agreed at the time of drafting the facilitating Regulations that the four judicially independent Valuation Tribunals would continue to operate under the umbrella of the new VTSW Administration, thus retaining the local service and identity and more importantly judicial independence.
- The only reasoning seems to be a perception cited in the internal "Rolph Report/WAG" # that there "may" be variations in Tribunal practice; no instances or evidence have been cited neither have efficiency or cost savings been reasoned.
- The proposed centralisation with the creation of an all Wales Tribunal membership would be a retrograde step. It will amplify the North/South divide as the greater population/hereditament stock is situated on the M4 corridor, which will in turn demand a membership weighted to the South to avoid members travelling unreasonable distances to sit on hearings.
The current "2006" joint administration operates from three strategically based centres:
Newport: East & South Wales Valuation Tribunals,
Carmarthen: West Wales Valuation Tribunal.
Colwyn Bay : North Wales Valuation Tribunal
# The Rolph report was commissioned/undertaken later in 2005 through 2006 although not published internally until March 2007. It has recently been placed on the Assembly’s website: http://new.wales.gov.uk/topics/localgovernment/publications/valuation/?l
J.C.Owen IRRV Chief Executive VTSW on behalf of the Governing Council - September 2008