§ Mr. VazTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many judicial appointments she has made since I May 1997 in each category; and how many are(a) women, (b) black and (c) Asian. [63803]
§ Ms Rosie WintertonThe table shows the number of appointments in the main categories of the judiciary made between 1 May 1997 and 21 June 2002. It shows the total number, the number of women judges and those judges who have stated on an ethnic monitoring questionnaire that they are of black or Asian origin.
The Lord Chancellor is committed to the principles of equality of opportunity and appointment on merit and is keen to see an increasingly diverse judiciary. The number of women and minority ethnic judges should be seen in the context of the composition of the profession from which judges are drawn. In 2000–01 5.4 per cent. of banisters with over 15 years' experience were of ethnic minority origin (there were no comparable figures for solicitors) and 14.4 per cent. of barristers with over 15 years' experience were women and 15.5 per cent. of solicitors with over 15 years' experience were women. The average length of time lawyers are in practice before being appointed to first rung judicial appointments is between 15 and 20 years. Those appointed to the more senior levels have much longer experience in the profession.
The proportion of ethnic minority and women judges in post has been steadily increasing over the years. For example, in April 1998 the proportion of women in the main tiers of the judiciary was 10.3 per cent. This had increased to 14.4 per cent. by April 2002. The proportion of ethnic minority judges in post in April 1998 was 1.6 per cent.; in April 2002 it was 2.3 per cent.