HC Deb 21 January 1993 vol 217 cc335-6W
Mr. John Morris

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what is the current establishment of High Court judges; and how many are currently in post.

Mr. John M. Taylor

Following a number of very recent promotions and retirements there are currently 83 High Court judges holding appointment out of a complement of 85, which is also the current statutory limit on their numbers. Steps are being taken to bring that number back to 85 as soon as is practicable.

Mr. John Morris

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many sittings in the High Court there were in the last available week; how many were taken by(a) High Court judges, (b) deputy High Court judges and (c) circuit judges, excluding appellate and divisional court sittings.

Mr. John M. Taylor

In the royal courts of justice in London in the week commencing 11 January 1993 there were 253 sittings in the three divisions of the High Court. Of these sittings 147 were taken by High Court judges, 59 were taken by circuit judges sitting as judges of the High Court and 47 were taken by deputies. These figures do not, of course, take account of the substantial number of sittings on High Court business and serious crime undertaken by High Court judges on circuits, for which figures for the week commencing 11 January 1993 are not yet available.

Mr. John Morris

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what progress is being made by the Lord Chancellor's committee on the work deployment and number of High Court judges; when it is expected to report; and whether the report will be published.

Mr. John M. Taylor

The group of senior judges and officials which has been asked to advise the Lord Chancellor and the Lord Chief Justice on the work, deployment and numbers of High Court judges met first on 5 October 1992 and has met several times since then. It is hoped that their advice will be received soon. It is unclear yet whether the advice will be in a form which could be published, but as parliamentary and Privy Council approval is required to increase the statutory limit on the number of High Court judges any changes proposed to be made as a result of it would come into the public domain.