Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to increase judicial capacity, to meet the Government’s policy of unlimited judicial sitting days.

The Lord Chancellor agreed with the Lord Chief Justice that there should be no limit on sitting days in the Crown Court in 2021/22. Collectively, MoJ and the judiciary have taken and are taking action to increase judicial capacity across all jurisdictions:

• continuing with a high volume of judicial recruitment, with a recruitment programme of about 1000 judges in 2021/22 and 1100 in 2022/23;
• aiming to recruit 4,000 new magistrates over the next few years. MoJ has invested over £1million to realise this ambition with a new, streamlined recruitment process which was launched in January 2022;
• encouraging fee paid judges to sit where they are able and needed, in line with terms of appointment, with a particular focus on Recorders;
• all Recorders will now be able to sit up to 80 days without a separate business justification being agreed and all are being contacted to advise them of this;
• where there is a business justification, we have raised the maximum number of days a Recorder or DDJ can sit to 180;
• legislating to raise the statutory mandatory retirement age (MRA) to 75 for judicial office holders, which could retain an extra 400 judges and 2000 magistrates per year, compared to an MRA of 70;
• providing for the reinstatement of retired magistrates below the new MRA where there is a business need;
• legislating so that the ability to sit in retirement is extended to fee-paid judges, which provides additional flexibility; and
• before the proposed new MRA takes effect, where there is a business need, approving the extension of judges’ appointments past their compulsory retirement date.