§ Mr. Meacherasked the Attorney-General how many advisory committees are concerned with recommending persons for appointment as magistrates; what regular procedures exist for reviewing the appointment of members of these committees; how many members have served for more than 10 or 20 years, respectively, what percentage of the total membership these represent; and how many are middle class and how many are working class among those with affiliation to each political party.
§ The Solicitor-GeneralThere are 96 advisory committees which recommend persons to the Lord Chancellor for appointment as magistrates with a total membership of 966. These committees cover the whole of England and Wales except for the counties of Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside where appointments are made by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster under a similar system. The Lord Chancellor's committees are reconstituted every three years, when about half the members retire by rotation. Thirty-eight members have served for more than 10 years and three for more than 20 years. The percentages of the total that these figures represent are 3.9 per cent. and 0.3 per cent respectively. No record is kept of class description of members and in 149W any event the term "middle class" and "working class" are not capable of precise definition. Not all members of advisory committees are affiliated to any political party.