The April 2015 newsletter from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) contains an item on the powers of the UK’s Magistrates Courts.

The Data Protection Act (DPA) has been updated and now allows magistrates to dole out unlimited financial penalties. This is the result of the implementation of section 85 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 on 12 March 2015.

Until this recent change, the maximum fine a Magistrates Court could impose was £5,000 and it had to send more serious offences to the Crown Court.