§ Mr. DonohoeTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement indicating how many justices of the peace have been appointed by his Department in each year since 1979; how many of these appointments are permanent; and what other bodies are entitled to make nominations for justices of the peace. [22927]
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonJustices of the peace are appointed by either the Secretary of State for Scotland under section 9 of the District Courts (Scotland) Act 1975 or under section 11(2) of the same Act by local authorities. Appointments made by the Secretary of State are permanent unless the JP resigns or is removed by order of the Secretary of State. In making appointments, the Secretary of State takes advice from local JP advisory committees. Local authorities are entitled to nominate up to one quarter of their elected members to serve as ex officio JPs for as long as they remain a member of the local authority and retain their authority's nomination. Once appointed, ex officio JPs are governed by the same statutory provisions as JPs appointed by the Secretary of State.
The table below details the total number of JP appointments in Scotland since 1983. Figures for the period 1979 to 1982 could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Year Secretary of State appointments Ex-officio appointments 1983 95 7 1984 148 112 1985 118 6 1986 136 15 1987 88 8 1988 175 125 1989 96 1 1990 144 11 1991 134 3 1992 141 109 1993 126 6 1994 97 15 1995 110 4