Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish the rationale for changes made to the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State’s Directions for Advisory Committees on Justices of the Peace between January 2022 and March 2023.

Since January 2022, the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State’s Directions for Advisory Committees on Justices of the Peace have been updated to reflect changes associated with the roll-out of a new recruitment process for magistrates, launched in January 2022.

In March 2022, they were also updated to reflect the increase to 75 of the statutory retirement age for judicial office holders, including magistrates. Other minor updates to the Directions have been made to ensure the eligibility criteria for the magistracy are clear.

As of May 2023, the Directions at https://www.judiciary.uk/guidance-and-resources/advisory-committees-justices-peace/ are up to date with all changes.