Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of magistrates in (a) Wakefield constituency, (b) West Yorkshire and (c) England.

Working with the magistracy through the Magistrates’ Recruitment and Attraction Steering Group, we are investing in a broad programme of work to recruit more, and more diverse, magistrates across England and Wales. We have also reviewed our planned future recruitment to make sure this is in line with the demands on the magistracy, particularly in managing our recovery in response to the pandemic.

Recommendations for the appointment of magistrates are made to the Lord Chief Justice by independent advisory committees. The North and West Yorkshire Recruitment Advisory Committee, which includes the Wakefield constituency, has received 78 applications to date in 2020.