§ Bob SpinkTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what initiatives are planned to recruit more lay magistrates in Essex. [28417]
§ Mr. WillsThe Lord Chancellor's Advisory Committee for Essex undertakes a range of recruitment activities each year to attract people from across the community to become magistrates. Last year initiatives included adverts in the local press, contacting local trade unions, the Regional Employers Organisation, local ethnic minority groups and the Racial Equality Council, sending them leaflets and offering to give presentations, circulating leaflets and posters to local libraries. This year it plans to continue issuing leaflets to local organisations and include an advert on free street maps, as well as placing adverts in the local press.