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Magistrates

Question for Ministry of Justice

UIN HL2342, tabled on 17 October 2016

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of increasing reliance on district judges, what role they envisage for lay magistrates.

Answered on

31 October 2016

We are committed to giving magistrates the strongest possible role in a more proportionate courts system, now and in the future.

Magistrates and District Judges bring different but valuable skills to our justice system. We are working with magistrates to review their role to make sure that the justice system is making full use of their skills, and that they are dealing with more of the crimes that affect and matter most to their communities.