§ Sir John GorstTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many applications for Queen's Counsel his office has received in each year from 1992 to 1995; what proportion of these applications were from(a) women and (b) members of ethnic minorities, and what proportion of applicants from each category were successful. [21840]
Mr. John M. TaylorThe information is set out in the table. Applications for appointment as Queen's Counsel are invited in September each year and no applications have therefore yet been received in 1995. The figures exclude those cases where the applicant subsequently withdrew his application.
Year applications received 1992 1993 1994 Total applicants 472 539 492 Total successful 70 77 71 Women Applicants 37 43 42 Percentage of total applications 8 8 9 Successful 6 9 8 Percentage of women's applications 16 21 19 Applicants who have declared a non-white ethnic background Applicants 14 11 12 Percentage of total applications 3 2 2 Successful 1 1 1 Percentage of applications from those declaring a non-white ethnic background 7 9 8