24 April 2018

Peter Aldous highlights the problem of finding justices of the peace to chair family panels in Suffolk and calls on the Government to resolve the problem by extending the retirement age for magistrates.

T5. In Suffolk there is a growing problem in finding justices of the peace to chair family panels, which can be complex work in which experience and local knowledge are vital. Will the Lord Chancellor give consideration to resolving the problem in the short term by extending the retirement age for magistrates? [904923]

My hon. Friend makes an important point about the important role that magistrates play within our legal justice system. The Secretary of State told the House of Lords Constitution Committee that the judicial age in general is being looked at in the round.

Hansard