SUPERANNUATION (INNER LONDON MAGISTRATES' COURTS) REGULATIONS, 1965 (Hansard, 16 March 1965)

§ LORD STONHAM

My Lords, I beg to move that the Superannuation (Inner London Magistrates' Courts) Regulations, 1965, a draft of which was laid before your Lordships' House on February 24, be approved. These Regulations are necessary because of the integration of the two systems of magistrates' courts in this County of London—the Metropolitan stipendiary magistrates' courts and the petty sessional courts of lay justices—which is effected by the Administration of Justice Act, 1964. The relevant part of the Act comes into operation on April 1, 1965. This change will naturally affect the staff of the two sets of courts, who are to be transferred, by an order made by my right honourable friend the Home Secretary, to the employment of the Committee of Magistrates for the Inner London Area. This Committee has been set up under Section 13 of the Administration of Justice Act, 1964, to administer the integrated courts, which are to be known as the Inner London magistrates' courts.

The Committee of Magistrates has been negotiating with representatives of the staff concerned about the conditions of service which should apply in future to the staff of the Inner London courts. All concerned have agreed that, subject to the protection of the interests of the existing staff of the petty sessional courts, who are at present subject to a scheme of local government contributory pensions, the superannuation scheme which should apply in future is the non-contributory scheme at present enjoyed by the staff of the Metropolitan magistrates' courts. The Regulations therefore 288 have two purposes: first, to apply this Metropolitan scheme to the staff of the Inner London magistrates' courts; and second, to protect the interests of the lay staff.

Regulation 1 extends to the justices' clerks for the Inner London area, and other officers employed by the Committee of Magistrates for the Inner London Area, the non-contributory scheme of superannuation under the Metropolitan Police Staff (Superannuation) Acts, 1875 to 1931. Regulation 2 and the Schedule allow the existing staff of the County of London petty sessional courts, after their transfer to the employment of the Committee of Magistrates, to continue to enjoy their present scheme of local government contributory pensions if they so wish. However, since that scheme is operated by the London County Council it is necessary to make special provision in the Regulations to allow the scheme to be carried on. This will be achieved by making use of the Greater London Council superannuation fund and requiring the Committee of Magistrates, as employer, to take certain discretionary decisions which were previously taken by the County of London Magistrates' Courts Committee.

The Regulations have been drafted after consultation with the Greater London Council and the associations representing the staff concerned. Except for two points raised by the London Justices' Clerks Society (who represent the clerks of the lay justices', as distinct from the metropolitan, courts) to which we felt unable to agree, the Regulations are an agreed measure. I will elaborate on these somewhat technical points, if your Lordships so desire, but perhaps it is sufficient for me to say that one of the provisions proposed would, in our view, have been ultra vires, and the other would have introduced a novel and, as we think, undesirable, element into the "no detriment" provisions. In neither case does our refusal of the proposal imply a worsening of the position of the persons concerned in relation to their former position. The Regulations are designed to ensure that the position of all the staff concerned is not less favourable with regard to superannuation after transfer than it was before, and I can assure your Lordships that that has been achieved. My Lords, I beg to move.