§ John MannTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many magistrates have received specialist drugs training. [159472]
§ Mr. LeslieStatutory responsibility for the training of magistrates currently rests with the 42 independent Magistrates' Courts' Committees (MCCs). There is no central data collected on the information requested.
However, following a survey that was undertaken by the Justices' Clerks' Society (JCS) towards the end of last year, it is known that all magistrates have had access to basic training on Drug Treatment and Testing Orders (DTTO). The survey also revealed a general desire from magistrates for more information to be made available to them and as a consequence a working group was established and is currently producing guidance materials under the auspices of the Criminal Justice Intervention Programme (CJIP). In addition a specialist 1367W training pack is being developed by the JCS with the approval of the Judicial Studies Board (JSB), for magistrates who deal with DTTO review hearings.