Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people applied to become magistrates following the recruitment campaign begun on 24 January; and what the (a) gender and (b) ethnicity breakdown is of those applicants.

As of 31st October 2022, 4,321 individuals have applied to join the magistracy following the launch of the magistrate recruitment campaign on 17th January.

98% of applicants provided demographic data. Of this data, 53% were female, 46% were male. 1% selected one of the following options; other, prefer not to say, or unknown.

Of 4,321 applicants, 96% disclosed their ethnicity; of this 22% were from an ethnic minority background. Comparative data is unavailable as, as part of the recruitment campaign, a new Applicant Tracking System was introduced which has improved data collection.