§ Mr. Greg Knightasked the Attorney-General what is the number of stipendiary magistrates currently holding office in England and Wales; and if he will identify each petty sessional area served by the same.
§ The Attorney-GeneralA stipendiary magistrate is appointed to a commission area and may serve in each petty sessional area within that commission area. In the inner London commission area there are 48 stipendiary magistrates. Outside this area there are 14 stipendiary magistrates in the following commission areas
West Midlands (3), Greater Manchester (2), Mid- Glamorgan (2), South Yorkshire (2), West Yorkshire (2), Humberside, Merseyside and South Glamorgan (1 each).
§ Mr. Greg Knightasked the Attorney-General what action he has taken or proposes to take to encourage the increased use of stipendiary magistrates.
§ The Attorney-GeneralA consultation paper, issued jointly by the Lord Chancellor's Department and by the Home Office, on the numbers of magistrates allocated to petty sessional areas has been published and comments on 141W it are presently being considered. The paper, which contains suggested criteria for the appointment of more stipendiary magistrates, has been placed in the Library.
Even in areas where stipendiary magistrates are not currently appointed, they are used to hearing long or complex cases where a request for a stipendiary magistrate has been made by the clerk to the justices.