§ Mr. Peter Freemanasked the Attorney-General whether he will consider the desirability of making Members of Parliament justices of the peace during their period of office.
The Attorney-GeneralThe responsibility for the advice given to the Crown in relation to the appointment of Justices of the Peace, outside the Duchy of Lancaster, rests with the Lord Chancellor. It has long been the practice of successive Lord Chancellors not to apoint M.Ps. as J.Ps. for the area of their own constituencies. Until he has had an opportunity of obtaining a general survey of the whole question, my Noble Friend thinks it undesirable to depart from this practice.