COMMONS AMENDMENT (Hansard, 12 April 1973)

§ THE LORD CHANCELLOR

My Lords, I rise to move that this House doth agree with the Commons in their Amendment No. 3. This is a Northern Irish Amendment and I am afraid that I must rely fairly closely on my note material to explain what it is about. It inserts a new clause which alters the definition of the expression retiring salary "in a Northern Ireland Act called the Resident Magistrates' Pension Act (Northern Ireland) 1960. As your Lordships know, the old system of resident magistrates, immortalised by the work of Violet Martin and Edith Somerville continues in the province of Ulster, or what remains of it. Until now, the pensions of resident magistrates in Northern Ireland have been based on a retiring salary which is defined as meaning the average of the last three years of service. This new clause changes the definition to provide that the expression shall mean the salary which was in payment immediately prior to retirement. I am told that this is obviously more beneficial for a resident magistrate because salary increases in his last three years of office make the figures arrived at by the average of the last three years a good deal lower than the amount he is receiving at the point of retirement.

The new clause brings the position of resident magistrates in this respect into line with that of stipendiary magistrates in England and Wales whose pensions since 1960 have been based on salary in payment immediately before retire- 800 meat. The provision will not apply to existing pensions by virtue of subsection (2) of the new clause. Subsection (3) of the new clause is a common form of provision in Westminster legislation which extends to Northern Ireland and preserves Stormont's power to amend the clause if Stormont should cease to be suspended and is subject to the general limitations on its legislative power.