The Ministry of Justice aims to halve the year-long application and training process, and to increase the number of magistrates by 6,000 to 21,000 by March 2029. A national taskforce will be created to coordinate and oversee local recruitment committees, and magistrates will be hired throughout the calendar year with a recruitment drive every quarter. Ministers hope to use a multi-million-pound campaign to inform people about the vital role of magistrates and entice more people to apply.
Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy said: ‘Hearing thousands of cases across different jurisdictions, magistrates truly are everyday heroes—people of all ages and backgrounds not only delivering justice but serving and representing their local communities.’
David Ford, national chair, Magistrates’ Association, said: ‘There will need to be more magistrates in post over the coming years if the government’s reforms are to succeed.
‘However, newly appointed magistrates have been telling us that the recruitment process is over-long, and communication with them on the progress of their application is often very poor.’ Ford said a pilot scheme of the reformed recruitment process had ‘greatly reduced waiting times and frustration for applicants’.
Richard Atkinson, immediate past president of the Law Society, said: ‘There is already a record backlog of cases in the magistrates’ courts.
‘The government’s reforms will see more cases move from the Crown Court to the magistrates’ court with the magistrates’ caseload expected to double. As well as recognising the need for more magistrates, the government must take steps to address the shortages of legally trained legal advisers and defence lawyers.
‘Otherwise, it will simply be a case of moving the backlog from one court to another with victims and defendants denied swift and fair justice.’
