Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will place in the Library a copy of the National Annual Report of Magistrate Training mentioned in the Quarter 3 performance report of the Judicial College; and whether subsequent training reports will be published.

This report on magistrates’ training is an internal document and is provided for judicial monitoring purposes only. I am therefore unable to comply with your request.

The Judicial College delivers a programme of core courses and prepares training packs for magistrates which are delivered under the direction of Magistrates’ Area Training Committees (MATCs). The College has a statutory responsibility to prepare the National Summary of MATC Annual Reports for the Lord Chief Justice, as Head of the Judiciary, and its purpose is to satisfy him that magistrates’ training is being appropriately addressed. The most recent report (for 2012/13) shows the intended learning was delivered and that magistrates felt it met their needs. The Judicial College publishes a report on the training it delivers to the judiciary - http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/publications/review-of-activities-2012-2013/ -

and magistrates’ training is also covered in the Lord Chief Justice’s Annual Report 2013

http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/publications/lcj-report-2013/

The Judicial College is part of the Judicial Office (JO) which supports the judiciary in discharging its responsibilities under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005. The report was mentioned in the College Activities Report (which is publicly available) to confirm it had been done.