Source · Select Committees · Justice Committee
Recommendation 13
13
Deferred
Civil judiciary no longer an attractive profession, hindering recruitment of high-performing candidates.
Conclusion
While we welcome the recent introduction of location-based advertising for full-time judicial roles, the civil judiciary is no longer an attractive profession. It is vital more is done to attract high performing candidates to the district-bench. (Conclusion, Paragraph 64)
Government response summary AI-generated
The government stated it would review the data it collects on the condition of the court estate and consider improvements, with outcomes provided by March 2026, but did not address the recommendation on attracting high-performing candidates to judicial roles.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government · verbatim extract
Deferred
Accept in part. The Lord Chancellor commissioned the Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB) to undertake a Major Review of the judicial salary structure in December 2024. The Major Review is looking at the role of pay in supporting consistent recruitment across the judiciary, including the challenges affecting the salaried District Bench, as well as reviewing location-based allowances (such as London weighting) and how these might address regional recruitment shortfalls. The Lord Chancellor has asked the SSRB to deliver their report in November 2026. A review of the two regional District Judge recruitment exercises which launched in 2024 and 2025 (80 vacancies for London and the South East and 25 vacancies for other regions) will be undertaken concurrently, evaluating the impact of this approach on applications, shortlist and appointments taken up when they conclude in Spring 2026. This will assess whether regional recruitment with greater certainty of location and targeted outreach improve recruitment outcomes. We are considering the results of the 2024 Judicial Attitude Survey and the findings of the Ministry of Justice’s social research (Dr Turenne, Cambridge University) into motivations to apply for salaried office to inform our approach to future recruitment. We continue to invest in judicial recruitment and work closely with Judicial Office and the Judicial Appointments Commission to improve outcomes.
Read the full response on Parliament ↗