§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what is the current number of(a) Queen's Counsel and (b) barristers; and how many of each are (i) women and (ii) members of ethnic minorities.
Mr. John M. TaylorThe Lord Chancellor's Department does not have statistics on practitioners in the 423W legal profession. However, I am informed by the Bar Council that as at 1 October 1993 there were 7,735 practising barristers, of whom 1,593 were women. At the same date there were 797 practising Queen's Counsel, of whom 41 were women. I am also informed by the Bar Council that of a total of 7,660 practising banisters on 6 September 1993, 347 had declared a non-white ethnic origin. Of these, nine were Queen's Counsel. Seventy-seven new practising Queen's Counsel have been appointed this year. Of these, nine were women and one was of non-white ethnic origin.