Lay justices' allowances
Courts Bill [Lords]
10:45 am
Mr Christopher Leslie (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs; Shipley, Labour)
I have not spoken to any Treasury mandarins in my short time in my current post, although I may well seek to do so at the prompting of the hon. Gentleman. He is seeking to amend the clause, which relates to the allowances regime available for those who are magistrates, which provides a useful opportunity to record the gratitude not only of the Government but of the whole of Parliament for the immensely valuable work undertaken by magistrates. They do not do it for allowances, but deserve compensation for the sacrifices that they make in fulfilling their roles.
The clause is substantially the same as the existing power under the Justices of the Peace Act and will largely allow the Lord Chancellor to pay and determine allowances. They include allowances for the cost of travelling to and from the place where duties are performed, subsistence allowances for any specified period during which they are required to be away from their normal place of residence, and financial compensation for loss of earnings or social security benefits, or for additional expenditure incurred in the performance of duties.
The amendment would require the Lord Chancellor to review allowances every five years. That provision is not needed in the Bill. First, having a specified time span between such reviews introduces a matter of detail into the Bill that is not appropriate. Secondly, the levels of allowances are in any case reviewed annually, so five years would probably be too long an interval. On that basis, I hope that the hon. Gentleman will feel that the amendment is not needed and will withdraw it.