UK Law Articles
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Lord Chancellor's Department
Press Notice
10 November 1999
LORD CHANCELLOR TO SEEK INCREASE TO STIPENDIARY MAGISTRATE NUMBERS
Lord Bach on behalf of the Lord Chancellor, Lord Irvine, will this
afternoon seek leave of Parliament to increase the upper statutory
ceiling of provincial Stipendiary Magistrates in England and Wales
from 50 to 56. There are currently 48 provincial Stipendiary
Magistrates in post.
Stipendiary appointments are made when there is a clear need for
full-time support to part-time lay Benchs. The appointments are made
by the Lord Chancellor on the recommendation of his local Advisory
Committees after they have consulted their Magistrates' Courts'
Committees, Bench Chairmen and Justices Clerks.
The Lord Chancellor has also recently directed that the Magistrates'
Association be asked for its views whenever a Stipendiary appointment
is being considered.
The Lord Chancellor said today: "I wish to express the Government's
appreciation for lay magistrates, over 30,000 of whom are giving
their voluntary services free for the benefit of their communities.
"The role of the lay magistracy is pivotal to the administration of
justice. Its continued good health depends essentially on sufficient
numbers of suitable people from all walks of life applying for
appointment."
The Lord Chancellor consulted interested parties on a proposal to
increase the maximum number of provincial Stipendiary Magistrates to
60. He noted the concern of the Magistrates' Association that it is
not the right time to increase the limit due to imminent changes
contained in the Access to Justice Act 1999 to establish a unified
stipendiary bench.
However, a great deal of preparatory work has to be done before the
provisions in the 1999 Act can be brought into effect. In the
meantime the Lord Chancellor believes there is a requirement to
increase the statutory maximum so that those areas which urgently
need Stipendiary assistance can receive it.
"Having considered carefully the views of the Magistrates'
Association," he said, "I have decided to limit the increase to the
minimum required to meet the requests for new posts already
identified as essential to ensure the smooth running of the criminal
justice system in those areas. I will therefore seek approval this
evening only to an increase to 56 posts."
Lord Irvine said that there are no grounds for the lay magistracy to
fear any kind of a take-over by the Stipendiary magistracy.
"There are more than 30,000 lay magistrates in England and Wales and
48 provincial Stipendiary Magistrates outside London. The numbers of
lay magistrates has increased year by year since 1988 and the
appointment of a Stipendiary must always be seen as complementary to
the lay bench rather than displacing it.
"The Government is committed to the principle of the lay magistracy
continuing to play a significant part in our justice system."
Notes for Editors
1. The criteria to be considered before recommending an appointment
are set out in the Lord Chancellor's Directions for Advisory
Committees on Justices of the Peace. In essence these are:
Are there excessive and apparently settled delays in disposing of
the course business?
Is the business of the court being dealt with within acceptable
time limits but only by way of an unacceptable use of magistrates or
court staff (sitting with only two magistrate courts or requiring
exceptionally high sittings etc)?
Does the lay bench exceed 250 magistrates (the lowest size of Bench
at which the workload suggest a stipendiary would be fully used)?
The full criteria are available on the LCD website (http://www.open.gov.uk/lcd/judicial/a-stipfr.htm
) (Update 08/02/08 - This web site no longer exists.)
2. Stipendiary Magistrates deal with the full range of business that
can be dealt with by the lay magistracy and, in particular, they may
be expected to hear the lengthier and more complex matters coming
before the magistrates' courts. In addition they have jurisdiction to
hear cases under the Extradition Acts and Fugitive Offenders Acts.
They may sit with lay magistrates or alone.
3. As at 1 October the current statutory ceilings for
Stipendiary Magistrates' appointments is:
Metropolitan: 60 with 48 in post
Provincial: 50 with 48 in post
There are also 107 acting, or part-time, Stipendiary Magistrates.
4. There are currently more than 30,000 lay magistrates (49% are
women). There is no statutory maximum number of lay magistrates. The
minimum annual sitting requirement for lay magistrates is 26
half-days.
5. During March and April of this year the Lord Chancellor launched a
month-long national recruitment campaign for lay magistrates in order
to raise the profile of the lay magistracy and to increase awareness
that 'ordinary' people can apply to be magistrates. The campaign was
successful - more than 15,000 enquiries were received.
