Justice Update

Friday 26th October 2018 Written Statements

[The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice (Mr David Gauke)]

The “Supplement to the Fortieth Annual Report on Senior Salaries 2018” is published today. The supplement follows the Senior Salaries Review Body’s (SSRB) annual and major reviews of judicial pay. Copies are available from the Vote Office and the Printed Paper Office. I am grateful to the chairman and members of the review body for their work in undertaking these reviews.

The Government value the vital role played by the judiciary. Our judges are the envy of the world. They deservedly have the very highest reputation for integrity and independence. They deliver justice every day in courts and tribunals across the land without fear or favour, and in doing so uphold the rule of law on which our society is founded. Beyond that fundamental role, the quality and dependability of our judiciary is a critical part of making the UK an attractive place to settle disputes, and English law a pre-eminent choice for contracts.

I am pleased therefore to confirm today that members of the judiciary will receive a pay increase of 2% in 2018/19, which is the biggest pay rise for judges in nearly 10 years. This award will be backdated to April 2018.

In reaching our final position for the 2018/19 pay award, the Government have had to balance the need for affordability for the tax payer and future sustainability of public services while ensuring that pay awards are fair and consistent across the public sector. Therefore, the Government have not accepted in full the SSRB’s recommended increase of 2.5%.

The SSRB has also, at the Government’s request, conducted a major review of the judicial salary structure. This is a comprehensive assessment of the appropriate structure and levels of judicial pay for the future, taking into account the need to recruit and retain judicial office holders of the highest calibre.

In its major review report, which I am also publishing today, the SSRB highlight evidence of a growing recruitment problem at certain key levels within the judiciary—notably at High Court and circuit bench level. The SSRB conclude that these problems are principally occurring because the reward package has become much less attractive to potential applicants, and highlight in particular the impact of recent pensions changes on judicial reward.

The SSRB have made a series of recommendations, including that varying levels of pay increase are made across different salary groups, with the biggest increases recommended for those judges in salary groups where there is evidence of a recruitment problem and who are in the new judicial pension scheme 2015.

The Government take very seriously the threat that being unable to fill key judicial posts represents to the proper functioning of justice and the UK’s wider prosperity. We are now carefully considering what changes might be made to the judicial remuneration package to address the particular issues highlighted by the SSRB’s major review.

The Government will also be considering the SSRB’s recommendations on changes to the current judicial salary structure and their proposals for new pay supplements for those judges who undertake extra leadership responsibilities. I can also confirm that the Government will honour their commitment to maintain the recruitment and retention allowance currently paid to eligible High Court judges until they have responded to the major review.

This Government remain committed to ensuring our courts and tribunals system is as efficient as possible. Through our reform programme we have already taken important steps towards enabling judges to make the best possible use of their time, and I will continue to work towards this objective in partnership with the Lord Chief Justice and Senior President of Tribunals.

I will make a further statement to the House when I am in a position to set out in full the Government’s response to the major review.

[HCWS1045]