§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the reasons for planning the combination of the juvenile and adult courts in inner London; and if he will give an assurance that separate juvenile courts will continue to exist in inner London.
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§ Mr. Merlyn Rees:The combination of juvenile courts with adult courts anywhere in England and Wales would be contrary to section 45 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933, and I have no proposals to alter this.
My hon. Friend may, however, have in mind the proposition reported in the press that the present procedure whereby the justices for the juvenile court panel for the inner London area are selected by the Lord Chancellor should be replaced by the procedure obtaining elsewhere in England and Wales under which the justices for each petty sessions area appoint a juvenile court panel from amongst themselves. Such a change would require legislation to amend schedule 2 to the Children and Young Persons Act 1933, as amended. I understand that advisers to my noble and learned Friend the Lord Chancellor are considering whether the present system for inner London is operating satisfactorily, but no conclusions have yet been reached and no recommendations made.