Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2022 to Question 119600, on Courts, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of plans to increase the statutory mandatory retirement age to 75 for judicial office holders on the effectiveness of the criminal justice system.

The Ministry of Justice published an Equality Statement and an Impact assessment alongside the consultation on increasing the mandatory retirement age (MRA) for judicial office holders, which included analysis of the impact on judicial capacity from raising the MRA.

The assessment is that an MRA of 75 will retain around 400 judges and 2,000 magistrates more per year across the courts and tribunals, compared with an MRA of 70. The provision in the Public Service Pensions and Judicial Offices Bill for the reinstatement of retired magistrates below the new mandatory retirement age, subject to business need, will also bolster magistrate numbers. The retention and reinstatement of these additional, experienced judges and magistrates will be beneficial to the criminal justice system.

More than £1 billion has been allocated to boost capacity and accelerate recovery from the pandemic in courts and tribunals, and it is important we do everything possible to continue bearing down on the backlog. This measure will help to ensure we are maximising available judicial capacity, which is a key component of capacity overall.