Written questions by Shastri-Hurst.

What steps her Department is taking to help improve the retention of district judges and circuit judges in the County Court.

The data on salaried judge retention shows the majority of salaried judges leave due to retirement, with an average retirement age of 66.As well as continuing to recruit around 1000 judges and tribunal members annually to increase judicial capacity where it is needed, the increase to the mandatory retirement age (from 70 to 75 in March 2022) and allowing fee paid and salaried judges to sit in retirement where there is a business need, is helping retain experienced judges for longer.

What steps she is taking to improve the retention employment tribunal judges.

The data on salaried judge retention shows the majority of salaried judges leave due to retirement, with an average retirement age of 66.As well as continuing to recruit around 1000 judges and tribunal members annually to increase judicial capacity where it is needed, the increase to the mandatory retirement age (from 70 to 75 in March 2022) and allowing fee paid and salaried judges to sit in retirement where there is a business need, is helping retain experienced judges for longer.

What steps her Department is taking to help improve the retention of judges in the Crown Court.

The data on salaried judge retention shows the majority of salaried judges leave due to retirement, with an average retirement age of 66.As well as continuing to recruit around 1000 judges and tribunal members annually to increase judicial capacity where it is needed, the increase to the mandatory retirement age (from 70 to 75 in March 2022) and allowing fee paid and salaried judges to sit in retirement where there is a business need, is helping retain experienced judges for longer.

What steps her Department is taking to reduce personal injury claims being block listed in the County Courts.

Listing decisions, including whether a claim is suitable for a block list, are a matter for the independent judiciary.

What steps her Department is taking to help improve the retention of district judges in the Magistrates’ Court.

The data on salaried judge retention shows the majority of salaried judges leave due to retirement, with an average retirement age of 66.As well as continuing to recruit around 1000 judges and tribunal members annually to increase judicial capacity where it is needed, the increase to the mandatory retirement age (from 70 to 75 in March 2022) and allowing fee paid and salaried judges to sit in retirement where there is a business need, is helping retain experienced judges for longer.

What steps her Department is taking to help improve the retention of judges in the High Court.

The data on salaried judge retention shows the majority of salaried judges leave due to retirement, with an average retirement age of 66.As well as continuing to recruit around 1000 judges and tribunal members annually to increase judicial capacity where it is needed, the increase to the mandatory retirement age (from 70 to 75 in March 2022) and allowing fee paid and salaried judges to sit in retirement where there is a business need, is helping retain experienced judges for longer.

What steps she is taking to improve the retention of Court of Appeal judges.

The data on salaried judge retention shows the majority of salaried judges leave due to retirement, with an average retirement age of 66.As well as continuing to recruit around 1000 judges and tribunal members annually to increase judicial capacity where it is needed, the increase to the mandatory retirement age (from 70 to 75 in March 2022) and allowing fee paid and salaried judges to sit in retirement where there is a business need, is helping retain experienced judges for longer.

What steps she is taking to improve retention of judges in the Immigration and Asylum Chamber.

The data on salaried judge retention shows the majority of salaried judges leave due to retirement, with an average retirement age of 66.As well as continuing to recruit around 1000 judges and tribunal members annually to increase judicial capacity where it is needed, the increase to the mandatory retirement age (from 70 to 75 in March 2022) and allowing fee paid and salaried judges to sit in retirement where there is a business need, is helping retain experienced judges for longer.

What steps she is taking to improve retention of judges in the Health, Education, and Social Care Chamber.

The data on salaried judge retention shows the majority of salaried judges leave due to retirement, with an average retirement age of 66.As well as continuing to recruit around 1000 judges and tribunal members annually to increase judicial capacity where it is needed, the increase to the mandatory retirement age (from 70 to 75 in March 2022) and allowing fee paid and salaried judges to sit in retirement where there is a business need, is helping retain experienced judges for longer.

What steps she is taking to improve retention of judges in the Social Entitlement Chamber.

The data on salaried judge retention shows the majority of salaried judges leave due to retirement, with an average retirement age of 66.As well as continuing to recruit around 1000 judges and tribunal members annually to increase judicial capacity where it is needed, the increase to the mandatory retirement age (from 70 to 75 in March 2022) and allowing fee paid and salaried judges to sit in retirement where there is a business need, is helping retain experienced judges for longer.

What steps she is taking to improve retention of judges in the Employment Appeal Tribunal.

The data on salaried judge retention shows the majority of salaried judges leave due to retirement, with an average retirement age of 66.As well as continuing to recruit around 1000 judges and tribunal members annually to increase judicial capacity where it is needed, the increase to the mandatory retirement age (from 70 to 75 in March 2022) and allowing fee paid and salaried judges to sit in retirement where there is a business need, is helping retain experienced judges for longer.

What steps she is taking to improve retention of judges in the Business and Property Courts.

The data on salaried judge retention shows the majority of salaried judges leave due to retirement, with an average retirement age of 66.As well as continuing to recruit around 1000 judges and tribunal members annually to increase judicial capacity where it is needed, the increase to the mandatory retirement age (from 70 to 75 in March 2022) and allowing fee paid and salaried judges to sit in retirement where there is a business need, is helping retain experienced judges for longer.

What steps she is taking to improve the retention of Supreme Court judges.

The data on salaried judge retention shows the majority of salaried judges leave due to retirement, with an average retirement age of 66.As well as continuing to recruit around 1000 judges and tribunal members annually to increase judicial capacity where it is needed, the increase to the mandatory retirement age (from 70 to 75 in March 2022) and allowing fee paid and salaried judges to sit in retirement where there is a business need, is helping retain experienced judges for longer.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of magistrates determining Child Arrangement Orders.

The Ministry of Justice and HMCTS do not collect data on the number or outcome of applications for Child Arrangement Orders heard by magistrates in the family courts.When sitting in the family courts, magistrates are supported by legal advisers who are qualified to provide advice on the law and procedures magistrates must follow, and who are also subject to an ongoing family training requirement. All judges – including magistrates – who hear applications for Child Arrangements Orders are obligated by the Children Act 1989 to have the child’s welfare as their paramount consideration and must undergo extensive training.To safeguard their independence, the appointment and training of magistrates is overseen by the judiciary as set out under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, and Coroners and Justice Act 2009. Magistrates have been determining cases in the family court since that court’s inception in 2014, and in the predecessor Family Proceedings Courts before then.To be appointed as a magistrate, each individual must undertake training on determining the best interests of the child, navigating the welfare checklist, and ways of communicating with people in court, particularly where there is high conflict.

What recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing specialist family judges to determine all child arrangement orders.

The Ministry of Justice and HMCTS do not collect data on the number or outcome of applications for Child Arrangement Orders heard by magistrates in the family courts.When sitting in the family courts, magistrates are supported by legal advisers who are qualified to provide advice on the law and procedures magistrates must follow, and who are also subject to an ongoing family training requirement. All judges – including magistrates – who hear applications for Child Arrangements Orders are obligated by the Children Act 1989 to have the child’s welfare as their paramount consideration and must undergo extensive training.To safeguard their independence, the appointment and training of magistrates is overseen by the judiciary as set out under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, and Coroners and Justice Act 2009. Magistrates have been determining cases in the family court since that court’s inception in 2014, and in the predecessor Family Proceedings Courts before then.To be appointed as a magistrate, each individual must undertake training on determining the best interests of the child, navigating the welfare checklist, and ways of communicating with people in court, particularly where there is high conflict.

How many Child Arrangement Orders determined by a bench of lay magistrates have been appealed; and how many of those appeals were successful.

The Ministry of Justice and HMCTS do not collect data on the number or outcome of applications for Child Arrangement Orders heard by magistrates in the family courts.When sitting in the family courts, magistrates are supported by legal advisers who are qualified to provide advice on the law and procedures magistrates must follow, and who are also subject to an ongoing family training requirement. All judges – including magistrates – who hear applications for Child Arrangements Orders are obligated by the Children Act 1989 to have the child’s welfare as their paramount consideration and must undergo extensive training.To safeguard their independence, the appointment and training of magistrates is overseen by the judiciary as set out under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, and Coroners and Justice Act 2009. Magistrates have been determining cases in the family court since that court’s inception in 2014, and in the predecessor Family Proceedings Courts before then.To be appointed as a magistrate, each individual must undertake training on determining the best interests of the child, navigating the welfare checklist, and ways of communicating with people in court, particularly where there is high conflict.

When her Department was informed that former employees of (a) ISG and (b) ESS had access to the layout of prison estates; for what reason former employees were able to access the plans following the cessation of their employment; what assessment her Department has made of whether the former employees of other companies have had similar access; and what steps her Department is taking to prevent a similar security breach in the future.

When ISG Construction Limited entered administration on 20 September 2024, the Ministry of Justice took the necessary measures to immediately secure its data. Access to the Department’s software platform was immediately revoked to former employees of ISG and ESS, and the respective subcontractors.The Department was informed on 26 November 2024 that a small number of former employees of ISG and ESS, and the respective subcontractors, had accessed an active software platform managed by ESS following the administration. As soon as the Department was made aware of this, we liaised with the Administrator to ensure they revoked access. This was completed within 24 hours, on 27 November 2024.The Ministry of Justice is investigating the incident and any steps required to prevent a similar incident in future.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending the unit of measurement for court funding to judicial working days from sitting days.

The funding of HM Courts and Tribunals Service is agreed annually between the Lord Chancellor and the Lady Chief Justice and Senior President of Tribunals, via the Concordat process. Sitting days are an important metric used in this process, because they currently provide the best basis for estimating the number of case disposals that can be achieved for a given level of funding. This is essential to assess any funding proposal’s impact on waiting times, caseloads and access to justice. Judicial working time incorporates other important tasks (including work outside the hearing room, training, recruitment and leadership work) in addition to the time sitting in courts and tribunals. Work is underway to consider whether the definition of a ‘sitting day’ can be updated and improved to account for work outside of the hearing room that directly helps to progress cases towards disposal. As the Lord Chancellor has previously set out, she is determined that the Concordat process under her will be different and improved.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the unduly lenient sentence scheme to cases sentenced in the Magistrates’ Court.

The Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme operates in respect of qualifying sentences passed in the Crown Court, where the offender has been convicted of: (a) an indictable only offence (such as murder, manslaughter and rape); and/or (b) certain either-way offences specified by order(s). This is because the intention behind the ULS scheme is that it is reserved for the most serious cases.Offences within scope of the scheme therefore include all indictable-only offences – such as murder, manslaughter, rape and robbery. Certain triable either way offences, mainly relating to terrorism, physical or sexual assaults, and drug related crime, are also included.While the scheme is kept under constant review, Parliament intended this to be an exceptional power. The general rule is that a person should expect to serve the sentence a judge has imposed upon them.

What steps her Department is taking to help improve the experiences of bereaved families who appeal coroners’ conclusions.

It is important that the inquest process is as swift and efficient as possible to avoid additional distress for bereaved families at such a difficult time in their lives. Whilst the Ministry of Justice is responsible for coroner law and policy, the Department does not have operational responsibility for coroner services as they are a local service, funded and administered by individual local authorities. Coroners themselves are independent judicial office holders, led by the Chief Coroner. However, we are keen to understand the factors underlying the length of time for the completion of inquests, and to provide support, where possible and appropriate. To that end, we have introduced a raft of statutory measures to help streamline coroner processes and intend to take forward further measures when Parliamentary time allows. In addition, on 9 September 2024, the Government implemented the statutory Medical Examiner scheme which, by providing a more robust framework for the scrutiny of cause of death, is intended to decrease the number of deaths which are unnecessarily referred to the coroner, thereby helping to reduce pressure on coroner services and associated services such as pathology. We will continue to work with the Chief Coroner to consider and address any issues of consistency which may exist across coroner areas. We will also continue to support the merger of coroner areas where opportunities arise, to better provide consistent service standards for bereaved families. We welcome the findings of the Justice Committee’s 2023 follow-up inquiry into the coroner service, including in relation to support for the bereaved in the inquest process. We are carefully considering the Committee’s findings to establish a wider strategy for the development of coroner services including on issues such as coronial pathology and learning from death. We look forward to working closely with the Chief Coroner, local authorities and other key partners inside and outside of Government to devise and deliver this framework for the future, including working on an update to the Guide to Coroner Services for Bereaved People.