§ Mr. DismoreTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many applications were received in the last year for judicial appointments by(a) solicitors and (b) barristers for posts as (i) deputy district judge, (ii) assistant recorder and (iii) circuit judge; and in respect of how many of the applicants there were (1) no comments, (2) one comment and (3) two or more comments in relation to the informal consultation element in the selection process for each of (i) to (iii). [129949]
§ Mr. LockThe numbers of barrister and solicitor applicants for the last year's competitions are as set out:
Competition Barristers Solicitors Deputy District Judge 64 359 Assistant Recorder 573 114 Circuit Judge 111 35 No "informal" consultation takes place for any of these competitions. However, in relation to the formal consultation process which takes place for each of the competitions, the relevant members of the judiciary and the profession are invited to submit their views on each candidate. In addition, for the Assistant Recorder and Deputy District Judge competitions each candidate is invited to nominate consultees. Candidates for Circuit Bench competitions have not hitherto been invited to nominate consultees, although they have been invited to do so for this year's competition. The only available statistics are for the Assistant Recorder competition, which show that up to 30 comments were received on each applicant.