Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many staff members within the Ministry of Justice Policy Group are responsible for delivering the Lord Chancellor’s duty to encourage judicial diversity; and what the annual budget of this team is.

Work within Judicial Diversity has been a longstanding policy area in the Ministry of Justice, with the current structure operating since 2022.

There are three dedicated roles in the Judicial Diversity team in the Ministry of Justice Policy Group – the team responsible for delivering the Lord Chancellor’s duty to encourage judicial diversity. This represents 2.4 FTE and equates to an expected staffing cost, inclusive of pension contribution and National Insurance, of £176,670 over 2026/27.

In addition to staffing costs, the team has a programme budget in 2026/27 of £83,000 to support this delivery.