Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to increase diversity in the judiciary.

The Lord Chancellor has a joint statutory duty with the Lord Chief Justice and the Judicial Appointments Commission to encourage judicial diversity.

Since 2016 broader eligibility criteria have been agreed for those applying to High Court, Deputy High Court and Recorder positions; to open up the High Court to candidates without previous judicial experience; to appoint Recorders regardless of their jurisdictional experience or geographical location; and to trial the Judicial Appointments Commission’s fast track process to let Deputy High Court judges apply for full High Court office. These measures were introduced to encourage the widest range of talent to apply for judicial office, whilst protecting the statutory criteria and appointing solely on merit.