We do not record whether magistrates live in the local justice area to which they are allocated. There are 471 magistrates in the six local justice areas in Cheshire.
52 magistrates live in the constituency of the City of Chester
27 magistrates live in the constituency of Ellesmere Port and Neston
49 magistrates live in the constituency of Eddisbury
54 magistrates live in the constituency of Warrington South
two magistrates live in the constituency of Wirral South
seven magistrates live in the constituency of Alyn and Deeside
three magistrates live in the constituency of Wallasey
42 magistrates live in the constituency of Crewe and Nantwich
one magistrate lives in the constituency of Wrexham
three magistrates live in the constituency of Clwyd South
39 magistrates live in the constituency of Tatton
34 magistrates live in the constituency of Macclesfield
33 magistrates live in the constituency of Congleton
one magistrate lives in the constituency of Cheadle
one magistrate lives in the constituency of Altrincham and Sale West
33 magistrates live in the constituency of Weaver Vale
one magistrate lives in the constituency of Salford
one magistrate lives in the constituency of Knowsley South
40 magistrates live in the constituency of Halton
41 magistrates live in the constituency of Warrington North
two magistrates live in the constituency of St. Helens North
one magistrate lives in the constituency of St. Helens South
two magistrates live in the constituency of Liverpool, Garsten
one magistrate lives in the constituency of Leigh
one is unknown due to incorrect postcode being recorded.
Advisory committees on justices of the peace follow the Secretary of State and Lord Chancellor’s directions when making recommendations for appointment to the magistracy. This provides guidance that each local justice area should broadly reflect the community it serves including geographical spread.
(2) what her objective justification is under the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 for refusing to appoint magistrates aged over 65 years.
The new age regulations provide that discrimination will not be unlawful if it is undertaken in order to comply with a requirement of any statutory provision. The retirement age for magistrates is set at 70 by section 13(l) of the Courts Act 2003. Therefore, moving magistrates on to the supplemental list at age 70 does not constitute unlawful age discrimination under the regulations.
Magistrates sit in a part-time capacity and generally have little previous experience of the court system, so will require training, mentoring and the opportunity to gain experience. The Lord Chancellor would normally expect that part-time magistrates will be able to sit for at least five years before retirement, and he will therefore not normally appoint anyone over the age of 65.
There has been no central collection of data on the average travel times of prospective users of magistrates courts. However in deciding where magistrates courts may sit, there is a duty to have regard to ensure that courthouses are accessible to persons resident in each local justice area.
Departmental guidance provides for site selection on new builds to be located within 10-15 minutes walk of more than one form of public transport.
The following table details the number of magistrates courts in England and Wales since 1997. All magistrates courts are capable of undertaking criminal proceedings in cases that would require imprisonment upon conviction.
Number of magistrates courts 1997 492 1998 472 1999 436 2000 443 2001 426 2002 396 2003 389 2004 381 2005 373 2006 369
The following table details the number of magistrates courts in England and Wales since 1997. All magistrates courts are capable of undertaking family proceedings.
Number of magistrates courts 1997 492 1998 472 1999 436 2000 443 2001 426 2002 396 2003 389 2004 381 2005 373 2006 369
The only significant change to magistrates’ training in the last 12 months is that in April 2006 the Lord Chief Justice assumed responsibility from the Lord Chancellor for magistrates’ training.
In 1997 each of the 42 Magistrates Courts Committees (MCC) in England and Wales were responsible for the training of magistrates in their area, subject to guidance from the Judicial Studies Board (JSB).
In 1999 the “Magistrates’ New Training Initiative” introduced a competence framework and appraisal scheme for all magistrates.
In 2002 Bench Training and Development Committees (BTDC), were introduced by the “Justices of the Peace (Size and Chairmanship of Bench) Rules 2002” to replace the Bench Chairmanship Committee, with statutory responsibility for overseeing the training and appraisal of court chairmen plus a number of other training responsibilities.
In 2003 the “Magistrates National Training Initiative” was introduced. This refined the competence framework for magistrates, set a training syllabus for magistrates in all their jurisdictions, recommended a standard national practice for the mentoring and appraisal of magistrates, and provided guidance to BTDCs on their training functions.
In 2005 training became compulsory for magistrates before they were permitted to undertake certain functions, the Lord Chancellor was required to provide training material for those compulsory courses and the JSB assumed a strengthened role in magistrate training.
The 2005 Rules also created Magistrates’ Area Training Committees (MATC). MATCs are responsible for agreeing the annual training plan for magistrates in their area and monitoring and evaluating its implementation.
In 2005 the JSB and Her Majesty’s Courts Service (HMCS) agreed a “Minimum Protocol for The Provision of Magistrates’ Training”. This ensures that HMCS provides sufficient resources to allow magistrates to fulfil their minimum training requirements. That Protocol is renegotiated annually.
Before being allowed to sit in court the newly appointed magistrate undertakes an initial training session of three hours to introduce him/her to the bench and its organisation. This is followed by a minimum of three days training covering such topics as the jurisdiction of magistrates; judicial decision making; case management and preliminary decisions; summary trial; evidence and determining guilt or innocence; sentencing, and enforcement of court orders. This training input is supplemented by court observations. In addition newly appointed magistrates are required to visit penal establishments and these visits are normally completed within the first year of sitting. The newly appointed magistrate’s learning and development is supported by a mentor scheme. Approximately 12 months after beginning to sit in court he/she will attend a further 12 hours consolidation training. Following this an appraisal will take place to identify if the magistrate has any outstanding training needs.
Although training provision varies across different court areas in England and Wales in response to local training needs, all sitting magistrates are required to undertake a minimum of six hours training every three years. In addition magistrates are provided with extra initial and continuation training if they hold additional responsibilities, for example if they sit in the Youth Court or Family Proceedings Court. Additional training is also provided if there is major legislative change, for example to support the implementation of the Criminal Justice Act 2003. On an annual basis Her Majesty’s Court Service and the Judicial Studies Board agree a national minimum training provision for all magistrates to ensure that appropriate resources are available to support magistrates training.