HC Deb 02 February 1994 vol 236 cc698-9W
Mr. Heald

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what proposals his Department has for magistrates courts committees and the employment of their staff as set out in the Police and Magistrates' Courts Bill[Lords].

Mr. John M. Taylor

The Lord Chancellor has considered carefully the points raised during the debate on the House of Lords Second Reading of the Police and Magistrates' Courts Bill, and in particular the fears that the Bill's provisions could give central Government an inappropriate level of control over the management of the magistrates court service and may undermine the independence of the advice received by magistrates when dealing with individual cases. The Lord Chancellor has also, since the Second Reading debate, met representatives of the Magistrates Association, the Central Council of Magistrates Courts Committees, the Justices' Clerks Society, the Association of Magisterial Officers, and the Standing Conference of Clerks to Magistrates Courts Committees.

The Government are entirely committed to a locally managed magistrates courts service and to the protection of the judicial independence of the magistracy. We do not believe that these principles are in any way undermined by the Bill. However, in order to place these matters beyond doubt, the Lord Chancellor will table amendments to the Bill at the Lords Committee stage.

The effect of these amendments will be:

  1. (a) that the chairman of a magistrates courts committee would be appointed by members of the committee without requiring the approval of the Lord Chancellor;
  2. (b) that the terms of the contract of employment between chief justices' clerks or justices' clerks and their magistrates court committees should be left entirely to local discretion. The Lord Chancellor would accordingly have no power to require that contracts be for a fixed term or that remuneration be related to performance;
  3. (c) the renewal of appointments as a chief justices' clerk or justices' clerk would not require the approval of the Lord Chancellor.