Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to reduce geographic variation in liver disease (a) diagnosis (b) treatment and (c) health outcomes.

The Government wants people from all walks of life to be able to consider becoming magistrates, including those in full-time employment, the self-employed and people with caring responsibilities. Our engagement with employers is informing work to address barriers including time commitment, financial considerations and understanding of the role, alongside guidance to help employers support staff who wish to serve. Magistrates can also claim reasonable expenses associated with carrying out their judicial duties and we will shortly be consulting on the expenses framework to help meet magistrates’ evolving needs and support recruitment and retention.