§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will state the(a) cost in 833W 2001–02, (b) objectives and (c) components of the national strategy to raise the profile of the lay magistracy and encourage recruitment from all parts of the community. [15031]
§ Mr. WillsThe proposals for the national strategy are being developed. My noble and learned Friend the Lord Chancellor hopes to be able to announce the details of the strategy early next year and it is not anticipated that there will be any costs incurred during 2001–02.
The objectives of the strategy will include: to raise the profile of the magistracy; to encourage more people to apply to be magistrates, from as wide a cross-section of the community as possible: and also to make employers understand the benefits to them, in terms of transferable skills, of releasing workers to be magistrates.