§ Mr. Richardasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the arrangements for allowing paid absence of leave for civil servants who are justices of the peace to enable them to attend their courts.
§ Mr. Harold LeverCivil servants who are Justices of the Peace are at present allowed up to 12 days' special leave with pay a year to carry out their judicial duties. To enable them to undertake a fair share of the magisterial work and to gain sufficient experience of the work to keep abreast of their duties, it has been decided to increase the allowance of special leave with pay to a maximum of 18 days a year. Similar arrangements have hitherto applied in the Civil Service regarding leave for magisterial and local authority duties, the new arrangements will also be extended to civil servants who are elected members of local authorities. These arrangements are consistent with the recommendation in paragraph 532 of the Report of the Committee on the Management of Local Government. The Government are considering this, and discussions will be taking place on the wider aspect of the recommendation on the release of employees generally for local government work.