§ Mr. E. L. Mallalieuasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to relieve the pressure on Metropolitan magistrates by putting more work on to lay justices for the County of London.
§ Sir D. Maxwell FyfeI have made an Order under Section 11 (9) of the Justices of the Peace Act, 1949, specifying the classes of case which may be taken by lay justices in the County of London; it came into effect on 1st April and, when fully implemented, it will substantially increase the work of the lay justices. Secondly, an arrangement has been made for justices to sit in a spare court room at Bow Street to hear cases in relief of the metropolitan magistrates. Thirdly, a domestic proceedings court, with a bench consisting of a metropolitan magistrate and two lay justices selected from a panel, has been set up under Section 9 of the Summary Procedure (Domestic Proceedings) Act, 1937, and now has jurisdiction to take cases arising in any part of the metropolitan court area or in the City of London.