A more diverse judiciary is important in retaining the public's confidence and trust in justice, and better reflecting the society it serves. This Government has made a number of changes through the Crime and Courts Act 2013 that we believe will promote judicial diversity. We have introduced part-time working in the senior courts, including the Supreme Court, we have enabled the equal merit provision for judicial appointments to allow protected characteristics to be taken into account where two applicants are of equal merit, and a statutory duty for the Lord Chancellor and Lord Chief Justice to encourage judicial diversity. I committed to write to the right hon. Member in relation to PQs 172565 and 172574 and this forms the response to those previous questions and the latest one, PQ 173099. Data on gender and ethnicity has been extracted from the Judicial Database. The Judicial Office does not collect data on educational backgrounds of Judicial Office holders. Any appointment as Queen's Counsel is subsumed by the more senior appointment on elevation to the Court of Appeal or High Court. However, it is possible to confirm that all justices of the Court of Appeal appointed in 2010, 2011 and 2012 are also Queen's Counsel. Data on gender, BAME, profession and Queen's Counsel for new Lord Justices of Appeal appointed in 2010, 2011 and 2012 are as follows: NewLord Justices ofAppeal Male Female Black,Asian and Minority Ethnic(BAME) Solicitor Barrister QC 2010 4 3 1 0 0 4 4 2011 5 4 1 0 0 5 5 2012 3 3 0 0 0 3 3