Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the HM Courts and Tribunals Service has provided recent guidance to magistrates on the bulk approval of requests for warrants of entry by energy firms.

The judiciary is independent and not subject to direction by HM Courts and Tribunals Service or the Lord Chancellor. Justices’ Legal Advisers are employed by HMCTS, but their independence is guaranteed by sections 28 and 29 of the Courts Act 2003 which provides that, in the giving of advice and guidance, they are not subject to the direction of the Lord Chancellor or any other person apart from the Lord Chief Justice or his nominee.