§ Sir John WheelerTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department whether additional judges will be appointed to reduce delays in the High Court.
Mr. John M. TaylorThe Lord Chancellor and the Lord Chief Justice have now considered the advice of the group of judges and officials chaired by Lord Justice Kennedy. This is contained in the group's report on High Court judges' work, deployment and numbers, copies of which will be made available to the Libraries of both Houses.
As a result of that advice, the Lord Chancellor and I have decided to seek parliamentary and Privy Council approval in the near future to increase the statutory maximum number of judges
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Table 1 Net institutional expenditure by each authority in cash terms 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1989–90 1990–91 Local education authority Total expenditure Unit cost Total expenditure Unit cost Total expenditure Unit cost Total expenditure Unit cost Total expenditure Unit cost £000 £ £000 £ £000 £ £000 £ £000 £ ILEA 482,118 1,740 528,027 1,930 569,987 2,105 589,220 2,170 — — City — — — — — — — — 404 1,950 Camden — — — — — — — — 39,153 2,000 Greenwich — — — — — — — — n.a. n.a. Hackney — — — — — — — — 49,671 2,165 Hammersmith — — — — — — — — 30,386 2,225 Islington — — — — — — — — 41,959 1,995 Kensington — — — — — — — — 21,787 2,340 Lambeth — — — — — — — — 48,757 2,020 Lewisham — — — — — — — — 59,568 1,985 Southwark — — — — — — — — 57,227 2,015 Tower Hamlets — — — — — — — — 63,056 2,140 Wandsworth — — — — — — — — 53,440 2,085 Westminster — — — — — — — — 42,767 2,715 Subject to that approval, the Lord Chancellor intends as soon as possible to recommend the appointment of 10 additional High Court judges, and he has agreed with the Lord Chief Justice and the Vice-Chancellor that the additional judges will be deployed in such a way as to reduce delays and backlogs in the chancery division, the Court of Appeal criminal division, the Crown Office list, the employment appeal tribunal and the commercial court.