The Justices' Chief Executives (Accounts) Regulations 2001

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Justices' Chief Executives (Accounts) Regulations 2001 and shall come into force on 1st April 2001.

Interpretation

2.  In these Regulations—

“the Act” means the Justices of the Peace Act 1997;

“accounting division” means an administrative group of courts for which a justices' chief executive is the collecting officer pursuant to section 41A of the Act; and

“the quarters” means the following periods of three months in any calendar year, namely January to March, April to June, July to September and October to December.

Scope of the Regulations

3.  These Regulations apply to all sums (“relevant sums”) received or receivable, or paid or payable, by a justices' chief executive in his capacity as a justices' chief executive or as collecting officer of any magistrates' court, except—

(a) any in respect of his salary or expenses or other sums received or receivable by him for his own use;

(b) any in respect of capital or revenue grants; or

(c) any in respect of a contract.

Written accounts to be kept and produced

4.—(1) A justices' chief executive shall keep such written accounts of all relevant sums as are necessary to give to any authorised person inspecting or auditing them a clear and accurate account of the said sums.

(2) A justices' chief executive shall keep a single set of accounts in respect of all courts or, if the courts for which the justices' chief executive is the collecting officer form more than one accounting division, separate accounts in respect of each accounting division, within the area of the magistrates' courts committee which appointed him.

(3) In this regulation “authorised person” means a person authorised by the Lord Chancellor for the purpose of regulation 5(1).

Inspection and audit of accounts

5.—(1) The accounts kept by a justices' chief executive under these Regulations shall be subject to inspection and audit by persons authorised for that purpose by the Lord Chancellor.

(2) A justices' chief executive shall give all reasonable assistance to persons inspecting or auditing accounts in accordance with this regulation and shall produce to them relevant moneys, books, documents and other records including electronic records.

Bank accounts

6.—(1) Subject to paragraph (4), a justices' chief executive shall maintain one or more accounts at a bank in respect of sums received or paid by him.

(2) A justices' chief executive shall select an account (or accounts) which provides the most suitable service and the best value for money.

(3) In paragraph (1) “bank” means—

(a) an institution authorised under the Banking Act 1987(1);

(b) a building society authorised under the Building Societies Act 1986(2) which is able to provide corporate banking facilities; or

(c) a credit institution authorised in a member State other than the United Kingdom to provide banking services and providing such services in the United Kingdom pursuant to the Banking Co-ordination (Second Council Directive) Regulations 1992(3),

which is a member of the inter-bank payment clearing systems operating in the United Kingdom.

(4) Before opening an account with an institution mentioned in subsection (3)(c) above, a justices' chief executive shall consult the Lord Chancellor.

Payment of sums to the Lord Chancellor and other persons

7.—(1) A justices' chief executive shall pay, not later than the tenth day of each month, to the Lord Chancellor all sums held by the justices' chief executive at the expiration of the previous month which are payable to the Lord Chancellor under section 60(1) of the Act.

(2) Where a justices' chief executive keeps separate accounts for each accounting division he shall make separate payments to the Lord Chancellor for each accounting division.

(3) Whenever a justices' chief executive remits to a person other than the Lord Chancellor a sum to which that person is entitled he shall give to that person a statement of the details of the sum or sums received by the justices' chief executive of which the remittance is composed.

Quarterly returns

8.—(1) A justices' chief executive shall, in respect of each of the quarters in any year on or after the first, and not later than the twenty-first, day of the month following the end of the quarter, send a return, together with a duplicate copy, in the form set out in the Schedule to these Regulations, or in a form to the like effect, showing in relation to the quarter the information in respect of relevant sums indicated in the form in the Schedule—

(a) to the Lord Chancellor, and

(b) to the chairman of the magistrates' courts committee which appointed him.

(2) Where, under regulation 4(2), the justices' chief executive keeps separate accounts in respect of each accounting division, he shall make separate returns in respect of each accounting division, but otherwise he shall make a single return.

(3) The first return to be made under this regulation shall be made in respect of the quarter ending at the expiration of the month of June 2001.

Jane Kennedy

Parliamentary Secretary,

Lord Chancellor’s Department

18th February 2001

We concur

Jim Dowd

Clive Betts

Two of the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty’s Treasury

20th February 2001