Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her polices of the principles set out in the Porter v. Magill 2001 House of Lords ruling in last six moths, in the context of advising on promotions from the first tier tribunal.

The number of judges who have been elevated from the first-tier tribunal within six months of receiving formal advice of misconduct from the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office in the last five years is one.

The majority of appointments to judicial office are based on selection by the independent Judicial Appointments Commission, which has a statutory duty to make selections based on merit alone.