§ Mr. HardyTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many magistrates have resigned before reaching retirement age in the last five years; and how many have offered as the reason for their decision the changes in the law and practice restricting their freedom of decision taking.
204W
Mr. John M. TaylorThe number of resignations, other than on grounds of age, for the Lord Chancellor's area of responsibility in each of the last five years were:
Year Number 1992 1,034 1991 820 1990 794 1989 799 1988 659 No information is collected centrally on how many magistrates have resigned with the reason offered being changes in the law and practice restricting their freedom of decision taking. Over the period the number of magistrates has grown from 24,112 to 25,340.