Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make it his policy to increase the maximum age for magistrates.

The magistracy is an integral part of the judiciary and therefore, as for all judicial office holders appointed since 1995, magistrates are subject to a uniform mandatory retirement age of 70. This has been the policy of successive Lord Chancellor’s since 1995. The government’s response to the recent report of the Lords Constitution Committee indicated that further consideration would be given to the arguments in favour of, and against, a change to the judicial mandatory retirement age. That consideration is ongoing.