Every day, the Magistrates’ Association (MA) advocates on behalf of its members. Our national officers, together with our five policy committees and supported by our small staff team, cover a wide range of issues that matter most to our members and represent the organisation on external bodies. Here’s what we’ve been up to since our last update in February.
MA Advocacy on the Courts and Tribunals Bill
The Courts and Tribunals Bill recently completed the committee stage of its passage through Parliament, during which, it was scrutinised line-by-line by a temporary Public Bill Committee made up of 17 Members of Parliament, with clauses and suggested amendments debated over 12 sessions. Despite heated discussions, the Bill remained largely the same, with amendments often defeated by a majority vote.
The MA provided written evidence to the Committee at the beginning of this stage. We expressed our support for extending magistrates’ sentencing powers, noting the recent efficient transition to a maximum custodial sentence of 12 months, and stated that this was the most straightforward way for magistrates’ courts to assist in reducing the crown court backlog. We also strongly supported a clause in the Bill that would see the legislative requirement which underpins magistrates’ expenses moved from primary to secondary legislation, allowing for much needed flexibility in the expenses’ regime. The proposed changes to magistrates’ expenses received cross-party support and recognition of the vital contribution magistrates make across all three jurisdictions in which they sit.
This evidence was mentioned in debates on clause 6. Linsey Farnsworth MP directed the Committee to our evidence when making the point that youth magistrates are able to impose sentences of up to two years. Courts Minister Sarah Sackman MP said: “It cheers me that the change was welcomed by the Magistrates’ Association and that magistrates are willing to take on the additional challenge with greater powers”. Clause 6 was defended and remains as first drafted in the Bill.
Local Justice Area Consultation Response
A joint consultation between the Ministry of Justice and Judicial Office on reforming Local Justice Areas (LJAs) opened in early 2025, proposing significant changes to improve efficiency and outcomes for LJAs. Drawing on extensive member engagement, the MA submitted a 26 page response emphasising that any post‑LJA system must remain local, shaped by magistrates, and built on consent.
The consultation itself attracted over 1,400 detailed responses, highlighting strong interest across the magistracy, and the government response in March 2026 reflected this. Proposals to reduce the current 75 LJAs to 58 benches – which we argued against – were scrapped. Plans to place an expectation on magistrates to sometimes travel for up to 90 minutes to court were also stopped and the Bench Chair role as an elected role dealing with both court and pastoral matters was kept intact – both of which we argued strongly for. Read a breakdown of the consultation response, proposal by proposal, alongside our recommendations here.
MA Position Statements Released
The MA released three position statements in March and April. These set out our policy position on community sentences, as well as adult and youth out of court resolutions (OOCRs). In summary:
- Community sentences: This called for a renewed focus on community sentencing through building credibility, better transparency and local coherence. The position statement made recommendations for proper resourcing of probation and timely commencement of orders, data-sharing giving magistrates sight of outcomes and breaches, and clarity on the Sentencing Act 2026.
- Adult OOCRs: This statement recognised that OOCRs play a useful role in the justice system, but their use must not compromise open justice or judicial oversight – complementing, not replacing, the courts. The position statement made recommendations on clarifying boundaries between police and courts, conducting a national audit, requirements for independent scrutiny panels and full disclosure of OOCRs to courts.
- Youth OOCRs: OOCRs play an important and distinct role in the youth justice system. When working best, they keep children away from court for minor offences, prevent unnecessary criminalisation, and support the jurisdiction’s overriding objective: prevent offending. But youth magistrates have expressed concern about inconsistencies of OOCR practice and scrutiny across England & Wales, bypassing judicial oversight, and current transparency practices. This position statement makes five recommendations to address these concerns, including focus on consistent application of the Child Gravity Matrix and separate scrutiny panels for youth OOCRs.
MA Response to the Victims’ Code Consultation
Following our focus on victims at the November 2025 national conference, we have continued our advocacy in this area with our recent submission to the consultation on the new Victims’ Code, which will set out the rights and expectations for victims of crime. Our response focused on the role of a digital service for victims at later stages in the criminal justice process and information on the Victim Impact Statement, sentencing and Special Measures. Throughout our response, we emphasised the importance of victims of crime receiving timely and accurate information on what to expect at court and, in particular, the process magistrates must follow when making sentencing decisions.
Media coverage
At the start of March, National Chair David Ford was invited onto The Law Show on BBC Radio 4 alongside Chris Kinch KC, where he discussed some of the government’s proposed criminal court reforms. Listen here.
At this time, David also wrote a piece for LBC on the role that magistrates’ courts can play in reducing court backlogs. Later in the month, he made another appearance on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, reacting to new measures to suspend prison sentences of under a year to tackle overcrowding in prisons. Quotes from this interview were shared by the Sunday Express.
Also in March, we launched our position statement on community sentences exclusively with the Daily Telegraph. The story was later picked up by MSN, Law Society Gazette and Solicitors Journal. In April, the Daily Telegraph followed up this story with a piece on challenges for probation officers, which included quotes from David.
Later in April, we shared a press release on our concerns around OOCRs, which was picked up by The Times, the Daily Telegraph, Solicitors Journal, New Law Journal, Yahoo and MSN.
Finally, the MA ensured that a quote from David was included in the press announcement of the government’s new national taskforce to speed up the recruitment of magistrates.
