§ Vera BairdTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what plans he has to increase the maximum daily allowance for loss of earnings for magistrates. [33910]
§ Mr. WillsThe financial loss allowance and allowances for travel and subsistence are reviewed annually. Any new rate is effective from 1 September. The last increase was in September 2001.
§ Vera BairdTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many magistrates have suffered substantial loss of earnings in order to ensure that they sit on their obligatory number of sitting days in the last five years. [33904]
§ Vera BairdTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what proportion of magistrates claimed loss of earnings in the last 12 months. [33911]
§ Mr. WillsThe Lord Chancellor's Department does not collect figures for the proportion of magistrates claiming for loss of earnings. However, a report "The Judiciary in the Magistrates' Courts" (RDS Occasional Paper No. 66), prepared for the Lord Chancellor's Department and the Home Office, and published in late 2000 suggested that 76 per cent. of magistrates who stated that they were employed did not claim any loss of earnings.
§ Vera BairdTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what the maximum daily allowance is for loss of earnings for a magistrate. [33905]
§ Mr. WillsThe financial loss allowance payable to self-employed magistrates is £41.78 for a sitting of up to four hours and £83.56 for over four hours. The amounts payable to employed magistrates, which are not taxable, are £32.17 for a sitting of up to four hours; and £64.34 for over four hours.