Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many complaints have been made to the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office on (a) bias against and (b) unfair treatment of fathers in family law proceedings in the last five years.

Our judges swear an oath to act "without fear or favour, affection or ill will". Judges make decisions based on the evidence and arguments presented to them, applying the law as it stands.

To uphold the important principle of judicial independence that is a cornerstone of the UK constitution, the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (JCIO) can only consider complaints about the personal behaviour of a judge. Allegations of bias or unfairness in a judge’s decision or case management must be addressed through the appeals process.

The JCIO does not collect or report details of the type of proceedings that are being complained about. Its annual reports includes information about the number and subject matter of complaints received (https://www.complaints.judicialconduct.gov.uk/reportsandpublications/).