§ Mr. McMasterTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the political balance of magistrates in each Scottish district; and if he will make a statement. [28573]
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonThe office of magistrate was removed in Scotland by the District Courts (Scotland) Act 1975. Magistrates in office in 1975 became justices of the peace and that is the office which predominately administers the lay justice system in Scotland.
JPs are appointed by the Secretary of State for Scotland on the basis of nominations by local authorities for ex officio appointment of elected members or on the recommendation of local advisory committees. JPs are not paid and are not compelled to declare their political views. The primary consideration in the appointment of a JP is the individual's personal suitability for the office.
The District Courts (Scotland) Act 1975 also provides for the appointment of stipendiary magistrates. There are nine stipendiary magistrates in Scotland operating in Glasgow district court. Their political views are not known.
The table shows the political affiliations, declared at the time of their appointment, of all justices of the peace in Scotland by each commission area.
111W
Number of justices by politics Commission area Com Con Ind Lab Lib Dem SNP Not known All Moray 0 57 4 16 7 15 51 150 Motherwell 0 17 2 53 0 3 12 87 Nairn 0 4 7 1 1 1 6 20 North East Fife 0 27 18 11 12 1 10 79 Nithsdale 0 12 13 7 2 2 15 51 Orkney 0 12 4 5 28 2 15 66 Perth and Kinross 0 76 3 21 13 10 81 204 Renfrew 0 38 5 45 9 7 15 119 Ross and Cromarty 0 33 22 2 12 0 12 81 Roxburgh 0 16 10 2 4 0 9 41 Shetland 0 11 7 7 22 0 7 54 Skye and Lochalsh 0 9 8 7 5 1 3 33 Stewartry 0 13 2 3 4 1 14 37 Stirling 0 33 22 20 6 7 8 96 Strathkelvin 0 17 4 21 2 1 17 62 Sutherland 0 9 6 2 15 2 17 51 Tweeddale 0 7 10 2 7 0 2 28 Wigtown 0 16 14 5 7 5 10 57 Western Isles 0 13 25 12 6 10 20 86 West Lothian 0 5 13 21 2 10 18 69 All Scotland 0 1,219 604 1,074 380 163 791 4,233