Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what training, if any, magistrates receive on the culture and ethnicity of gypsies and travellers.

Magistrates’ training is delivered on a local basis through HMCTS and in line with the National Minimum Training Provision which is agreed with the Judicial College. The Judicial College provides training for judges in accordance with the Lord Chief Justice’s statutory responsibility.

All magistrates take the judicial oath and the induction programme supports them to fulfil this. The College has not mandated any specific training for magistrates on the culture and ethnicity of Gypsies and Travellers, but it has published an Equal Treatment Bench Book which provides specific information about equality issues affecting Gypsies and Travellers and is available to all judges and magistrates.