Justices of the Peace

HC Deb 16 June 1977 vol 933 cc278-80W

Mr. Sproat

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland why justices of the peace are being asked to reveal their political opinions; whether all justices of the peace are being so asked; whether this is the first time such questions have been asked; what will be done with the information; whether this information will be confidential; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Millan

All justices of the peace are being approached so that I may have up-to-date information about the balance of opinion among justices in each district. Every candidate for appointment as a justice is asked his political opinion, but justices have not previously been asked to bring the information up to date. A summary will be prepared, without individual names, of the political opinions of the justices in each district. The information will be confidential; the summary only will be available to the local JP Advisory Committee and to myself.

My first requirement, in considering the appointment of justices of the peace, is that the persons recommended should be personally suitable for the responsibilities of the office, and should be recognised as such by the people among whom they live and work. But it is also the established policy that commissions of the peace should be broadly representative of all sections of the community which they serve. It is for this reason that the political views, if any, of persons recommended for appointment have always been inquired into. The individual's politics are in no sense a qualification or disqualification for appointment, but the object is to ensure that the body of justices as a whole reflects as nearly as possible the balance of political opinion among the general public in each district.

It has become difficult to secure this object by suitable appointments as opportunity offers because there is reason to suppose that information about political opinions given when justices were appointed, often many years ago, is now incorrect. For this reason serving justices have been asked to state their present opinions. They have been told that the reply "independent" or "not known" will be accepted.