§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Attorney-General how many female judges there are; when they were appointed; whether they receive the same conditions of service as the male judges; how many judges there are in total; and what action he proposes to take to increase the number of women judges.
§ The Solicitor-GeneralThere are two women High Court judges, appointed in October 1965 and July 1974, and eight women circuit judges, appointed on various dates from April 1971 to January 1978. Women also serve at all other levels of the professional judiciary, below that of judge, and of the 23,983 lay justices of the peace, 8,850 (that is, 37.7 349W per cent.) are women. The conditions of service of women judges are identical with those of their male colleagues, save for certain differences in their pension terms. There is no pension provision for a judge's widower. Apart from the Lord Chancellor and nine lords of appeal in ordinary, there are 94 Supreme Court judges (including 75 High Court judges) and 291 circuit judges altogether.
My noble Friend would welcome a further increase in the number of women judges, and takes every opportunity of recommending suitably qualified candidates. The paramount principle followed by my noble Friend is to recommend for judicial appointment the persons best qualified, regardless of sex, race, religion or any other extraneous factor.