Part VI Administrative and financial arrangements

55 Duties of local authorities.

1

Subject to the provisions of this Act, the paying authority or authorities in relation to any magistrates’ courts committee shall provide the petty sessional court-houses and other accommodation, and the goods and services, proper for the performance of the functions of—

a

the magistrates for the magistrates’ courts committee area;

b

the magistrates’ courts committee;

c

any other committee of the magistrates for that area; or

d

the justices’ clerks for any part of the magistrates’ courts committee area.

2

Subsection (1) above shall not require the paying authority or authorities to provide any current item or class of current items if the magistrates’ courts committee have notified the authority or authorities that they intend to obtain that item or class of items otherwise than from that authority or any of those authorities.

3

For the purposes of subsection (2) above “current item” means any goods or services which are of such a kind that expenditure incurred by a paying authority on providing them would not be capital expenditure.

4

Where there is one paying authority in relation to a magistrates’ courts committee, that authority shall pay the expenses of the committee.

5

Where there are two or more paying authorities in relation to a magistrates’ courts committee, each of those authorities shall pay a proper proportion of those expenses.

6

For the purposes of subsections (4) and (5) above the expenses of a magistrates’ courts committee shall be taken to include—

a

expenses incurred by them in obtaining goods and services which are proper for the purposes mentioned in subsection (1) above but which by virtue of subsection (2) above the paying authority or authorities are not required to provide;

b

the sums payable under Part IV of this Act on account of a person’s salary or expenses as justices’ chief executive or as justices’ clerk for any part of the magistrates’ courts committee area, the remuneration of any staff employed by the committee and the remuneration of any court security officers employed (whether by the committee or a paying authority) under section 76(2)(a) of the M1Criminal Justice Act 1991 in relation to petty sessions areas within the magistrates’ courts committee area together with—

i

secondary Class I contributions payable in respect of any such person, staff or officers under Part I of the M2Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992; and

ii

contributions equivalent premiums so payable under Chapter III of Part III of the M3Pension Schemes Act 1993;

c

the sums payable under any contract entered into (whether by any such magistrates’ courts committee or a paying authority) under section 76(2)(b) of the Criminal Justice Act 1991; and

d

so far as they are not otherwise provided for, all other costs incurred, with the general or special authority of the magistrates’ courts committee, by the justices for the magistrates’ courts committee area.

7

Nothing in subsection (1), (4) or (5) above requires any paying authority to incur any expenditure or make any payment which would—

a

cause the net cost to it in any year of the matters mentioned in subsection (1) of section 57 below to exceed the amount which, in relation to that authority and that year, is for the time being determined by the Lord Chancellor under subsection (3)(b) of that section; or

b

cause its capital expenditure in any year in pursuance of functions under this Part of this Act to exceed the amount which, in relation to that authority and that year, is for the time being determined by the Lord Chancellor under subsection (4)(b) of that section;

and in determining any such net cost as is mentioned in paragraph (a) above there shall be disregarded any such capital expenditure as is mentioned in paragraph (b) above.

8

Subject to section 14(1) above, any accommodation provided under this section for any justice, justices’ clerk or justices’ chief executive may be outside the area for which the justices act and, in the case of a petty sessional court-house, shall be treated as being in that area for the purposes of the jurisdiction of the justices when acting in the court-house.

C19

Two or more paying authorities may arrange for accommodation, goods or services provided for the purposes of this section by one of them to be used also as if provided for those purposes by the other or each of the others.

10

In this section—

  • “paying authority” in relation to a magistrates’ courts committee, means any responsible authority whose area comprises all or part of the area to which the committee relates; and

  • “responsible authority” means any council of—

    1. a

      a county;

    2. b

      a county borough;

    3. c

      a unitary district; or

    4. d

      a London borough,

    or the Common Council of the City of London.