§ Mr. VazTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what action he has taken and intends to take to increase the proportion of blacks and Asians in the judiciary.
Mr. John M. TaylorThe Lord Chancellor's policy is to appoint to judicial office those best qualified, regardless of sex, ethnic origin, political affiliation or religion. Without prejudice to this overriding principle, the Lord Chancellor has stressed publicly, and will continue to do so, that he would like more black and Asian practitioners who are suitably qualified to be appointed to the judiciary. A major factor has been the lack of such candidates in the legal profession in the relevant age groups. There are now more ethnic minority practitioners within the legal profession who the Lord Chancellor hopes will come forward for consideration. To encourage this, he has made the booklet on the judicial appointments system widely available to ethnic minority practitioners and representative groups. Particular consideration is given to reviewing ethnic minority candidates in the field for particular appointments and ethnic recording arrangements were introduced for applications for judicial appointment made after 1 October 1991. The Lord Chancellor and his officials also have periodical meetings with groups representing the interests of black and Asian practitioners where matters relating to the judicial appointments system are discussed.