§ Vera BairdTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what steps the Lord Chancellor will take to increase the number of women appointed to the judiciary. [23355]
§ Ms Rosie WintertonThe Lord Chancellor appoints to judicial office exclusively on merit. The number of women holding judicial office substantially reflects the number of women practitioners in the legal profession with the appropriate period of experience which is usually not less than 20 years. The Lord Chancellor has already introduced a number of initiatives to encourage greater394W numbers to apply for judicial office and to secure equality of opportunity in the appointments process. For example, he has made information about the appointments procedures widely available; he applies the procedures flexibly in relation to the age and sitting arrangements; he has introduced a work shadowing scheme; he has reviewed the detailed criteria for appointment against which assessments of suitability are made; he is piloting a scheme to encourage applications from those who may think that their career progress to date understates their judicial potential; and has appointed a Commissioner for Judicial Appointments to audit and make recommendations about the appointments procedures and handle complaints. Preparatory work for a pilot assessment centre has begun with a view to running the pilot in 2002. A video about the appointments process will be completed soon. These efforts will continue and be developed with a view to progressive increases in the numbers of women appointed.
§ Vera BairdTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what plans she has for part-time, permanent judicial appointments. [23349]
§ Ms Rosie WintertonThe Lord Chancellor decided that the facility for salaried part-time working should be piloted in the most recent competition for district judge appointments as part of his policy to promote equality of opportunity for judicial appointments. Following the outcome of this pilot, the Lord Chancellor has decided that the facility may be extended to future competitions for appointments to certain other judicial posts.