Experts questioned on Judicial recruitment

15 March 2017

The Constitution Committee hears evidence from experts and organisations on issues relating to judicial recruitment, as part of its follow-up inquiry on Judicial Appointments.

Witnesses

Wednesday 15 March in Committee Room 1, Palace of Westminster

At 10.30am

Anna Nice, Solicitor

At 11.00am

Robert Bourns, President, Law Society
Robin Allen QC, Chairman of the Bar Council Equality and Diversity and Social Mobility Committee, Bar Council of England and Wales
Millicent Grant, Vice-President, Chartered Institute of Legal Executives

Possible questions

To what extent do you believe remuneration is behind difficulties in recruitment? Do you believe this applies equally across all levels of the judiciary, or do other factors have greater weight in recruiting judges below the level of the High Court, and indeed outside of London?
Why is morale in the judiciary so low? And what is behind the disturbing figure that only 2% of judges feel valued by the Government?
We can understand that, for more senior judicial posts, it can take time for increased diversity to work its way up the system. But we note that in some areas diversity is actually getting worse. In particular, fewer women applied for the Circuit Judge 2015 exercise than in previous years—14% of applicants compared to 31% previously. The proportion of recommendations for Circuit Judge posts that were women has declined from 42% in 2014 to 25% in 2015. What do you think is the reason for this change, and what can be done about it?

Further information

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