§ Mr. VazTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what information he has on the number of Queen's counsel who are(a) black, (b) Asian or (c) women.
Mr. John M. TaylorThe ethnic origin of applicants for the office of Queen's counsel was not recorded prior to the autumn of 1991, and the formal records in respect of ethnic origin are therefore incomplete.
It is, however, believed that there are at present four black Queen's counsel, of whom one is a woman, and three Asian Queen's counsel.
There are in total 41 female Queen's counsel currently in practice.