§ Dr. CableTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to extend the training of lay magistrates prior to their sitting on the bench. [49875]
§ Mr. HoonI have been asked to reply.
By statute the responsibility for organising and delivering training to meet these requirements rests with individual Magistrates' Courts Committees.
Under the present training arrangements magistrates are required to attend prescribed induction training for a total of 12 hours and undertake visits of observation to their own and another magistrates' court before they commence sitting.
273WNew training arrangements are to be introduced over a twelve month period commencing in September 1998. Under these new arrangements magistrates will have to acquire and demonstrate through a process of appraisal, a range of identified competencies appropriate to the areas of work of the magistrates' court they are engaged in. Appraisal will be conducted by an experienced magistrate colleague, specially selected and suitably trained.
Newly appointed magistrates will receive some training in basic competencies and undertake visits of observation to their own and another magistrates' court before they commence sitting.
Training and development to achieve the competencies required for the adult court will continue through a process of attending courses and experience gained through sitting in court.
On appointment, new magistrates will be assigned an experienced magistrate colleague, specially selected and suitably trained, who will act as a mentor to them, to provide information, advice, support and guidance and help them identify and apply the learning related to the required competencies derived from the experience of sitting and to apply the learning obtained from attending courses to sitting in court.
A magistrate who fails to demonstrate the acquisition of the required competencies and, despite further training and development opportunities, shows no further progress towards attaining the competencies will be referred to the Local Advisory Committee who may then recommend to the Lord Chancellor that the magistrate be removed from sitting on the bench.