§ Mr. Stratton Millsasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he will appoint additional judges and magistrates to deal with the volume of work in the Northern Ireland courts.
§ Mr. David HowellThe matter of appointing additional county court judges and resident magistrates is kept under constant review. The number of permanent county court judges was increased from five to seven last year. The number of permanent resident magistrates was increased from 13 to 14 in February of this year. In addition, there are at present two deputy resident magistrates and a third is expected to be appointed in the near future.