Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many judges in England and Wales have been given training on the new laws on stalking to date.

The responsibility for the training of judges lies with the Lord Chief Justice as head of the judiciary and is exercised through the Judicial College.

The Judicial College is not responsible for teaching and updating judges on the law; judges are professional lawyers and are expected to keep themselves up to date. However, reference to any relevant law will be made at training events for the topics covered. The Judicial College provides regular updates to judges on any changes to the law via a jurisdictional electronic internal newsletter and did so in respect of these provisions in June 2012.

The Judicial College regularly assesses judicial training needs and how to meet them. Ultimately, judges use the law to make independent decisions based on the evidence and information provided to them in court.