Committee says justice secretary has not found alternative bodies to do Administrative Justice and Tribunals Council's work
Ken Clarke's plans to abolish the quango that monitors thousands of legal tribunals and ombudsmen's rulings will be challenged on Thursday by a committee of MPs.
The public administration select committee will say that the secretary of state for justice has failed to find alternative bodies to cover the functions of the Administrative Justice and Tribunals Council (AJTC), which monitors 650,000 hearings each year.
It also claims the government has overestimated the amount of money that will be saved.
The findings are another blow for the so-called "bonfire of the quangos" that David Cameron launched after the formation of the coalition government.
Bernard Jenkin MP, the Conservative chair of the committee, said the council has carried out vital work ensuring justice and fairness for thousands of people who challenged mistakes each year.
"The AJTC should be part of the machinery to help government get decisions 'right first time'. Instead, over half a million decisions have to be reviewed each year, at great cost and considerable injustice and inconvenience to citizens. If the AJTC is abolished, what will take its place, and how will government do better?"
The council was established in 2007 to replace the council of tribunals. Its purpose was to help oversee ombudsmen, tribunals and the courts.
Ministers announced in December that the quango was earmarked for closure. They hoped to save £1.4m a year over 10 years, according to the Ministry of Justice's evidence to the committee.
The committee will conclude that the government's rationale for winding up the council was questionable, and that the Ministry of Justice may not have either the resources or the expertise to take on its functions.
It also recommends that the House of Commons justice committee take its findings from this inquiry into account when it considers the government's proposed legislation.
The committee also dismissed the rationale behind the government's costing exercise. The report claimed that the government had failed to properly assess the full role of the council.
A spokesman for the ministry said: "We agree that an accessible, fair and efficient administrative justice system is of vital national importance. However, we believe the MoJ, working closely with the courts and tribunals service, is better placed to effect improvement across the administrative justice system than a standalone body such as the AJTC."