1. Single justice area
We submitted a paper to the Senior Presiding Judge (SPJ) setting out the key principles that we believe need to be considered in the move from the current local justice area (LJA) organisation of the magistracy to the single justice area arrangements. This represents the biggest change to the way that the magistracy is run and organised in its six-century history. The work on deciding the shape of the new arrangements will be led by the SPJ later this year. We asked our policy committees to consider the issues that will need to be considered in the reorganisation. Bev Higgs, our national chair, commented:
“We are very conscious that this is a once in a generation change; the importance of designing the right structures to support a healthy magistracy is difficult to overstate. We welcome the opportunity to improve on current arrangements, and are enthusiastic to contribute what we can to the process. The MA has a wealth of well-established resources that can assist with this endeavour.”
2. Financial loss allowance
Next week, the MA will meet Sarah Jump, Magistrates Expenses Team Manager at HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS), to discuss the practices and processes around the financial loss allowance (FLA) scheme for magistrates. It is about a year since the new arrangements were introduced and, at the meeting, we will raise the (good and bad) feedback that we have received from members and discuss how issues and problems can be ironed out. Tom Franklin, our CEO, commented:
“As young magistrates are particularly impacted by the FLA, we’ll be attending the meeting alongside Luke Rigg, the chair of our young magistrates network. Many members have expressed positive comments about the process and the helpfulness of HMCTS staff, but there are, without doubt, some issues that need sorting out.”
3. Changes to the single justice procedure
We are keeping a close eye on planned changes to the way that single justice procedure (SJP) cases are handled. These changes, distributed by the Magistrates Leadership Executive (MLE) in a letter from the SPJ to all magistrates earlier this week, are part of the widespread courts reform and modernisation programme that the MA has long supported for its aims of improving the running of courts and reducing unnecessary bureaucracy. The changes announced, involving moving to a ‘3 magistrates:1 legal adviser’ model, have been trialled at Lavender Hill and Leamington Spa. The feedback from magistrates on these trials has been positive, including that the experience was more satisfying for magistrates that a 1:1 ratio. We would encourage magistrates to give the new system a try and to book onto the training sessions that have been announced. We will review how it is working and, of course, feedback your members’ experiences to HMCTS and others.
While the MA is supportive of the reform programme, we have consistently urged the MLE, HMCTS and the senior judiciary to manage expectations better about future developments so that new processes do not appear to come out of the blue. There may have been an oversight on this occasion. Magistrates are volunteers, with limited hours in courts, and changes need to be fully explained well ahead of implementation. Unfortunately, from our feedback from members, this announcement has felt unsettling because again it feels that changes are being done to them rather than with them. The MA will keep making the case for improved communication about changes.
