Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps the Government is taking to achieve a representative judiciary; and how many judges are (a) BAME, (b) women and (c) BAME women.

In recent years, there has been progress in achieving a more representative judiciary but we acknowledge there is more to do. As at 1 April 2018, BAME judges made up 7% of judges in the courts in England and Wales and 11% in UK tribunals. Women made up 29% of judges in the courts in England and Wales and 46% in UK tribunals. In courts in England and Wales, as at 1 April 2018, 8% of female judges were BAME, and in UK tribunals 13% of female judges were BAME.

The Ministry of Justice is continuing to work closely with the Lord Chief Justice, Chair of the Judicial Appointments Commission and other members of the Judicial Diversity Forum, including the legal professions, to increase the diversity of our world-renowned judiciary. MoJ is funding the pre-application judicial education programme (PAJE), which will launch later this month. This is a Judicial Diversity Forum initiative, to support and encourage lawyers interested in a judicial career and will target lawyers from underrepresented groups including BAME and women lawyers, to help them prepare for a judicial career.