House of Lords written statement – made at on 17 May 2006.
Lord Falconer of Thoroton
Secretary of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs, Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs and Lord Chancellor
I am announcing today how the strategy which the Lord Chief Justice, the chairman of the Judicial Appointments Commission and I have agreed to promote diversity within the judiciary is to be taken forward in the light of the implementation of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005. I am also announcing particular changes that will contribute to delivering my judicial diversity policy.
Increasing the diversity of the judiciary, particularly the number of women and those from black and minority ethnic backgrounds, remains one of my key priorities. The launch of the Judicial Appointments Commission and the new responsibilities of the Lord Chief Justice provide an ideal opportunity to set in place a new strategy to build on the improvements made in recent years.
The Lord Chief Justice, the chairman of the Judicial Appointments Commission and I are committed to ensuring the continuation of a judiciary of the highest calibre, with candidates drawn from the widest possible range of available talent. We have agreed an integrated strategy by which we aim to bring about a more diverse judiciary with increased understanding of the communities it serves, to ensure a judiciary of the highest quality which contributes to increased public confidence in the justice system.
The key planks of the strategy, which will require a co-ordinated approach by my department, the Judicial Appointments Commission and the judiciary, are:
to promote judicial service and widen the range of people eligible to apply for judicial office; to encourage a wider range of applicants, so as to ensure the widest possible choice of candidates for selection; to promote diversity through fair and open processes for selection to judicial office solely on merit; and, to ensure that the culture and working environment for judicial office-holders encourages and supports a diverse judiciary and increases understanding of the communities served.
Details of the Division of responsibilities between my department, the Judicial Appointments Commission and the Directorate of Judicial Offices for England and Wales have today been published on the DCA website (www.dca.gov.uk). A comprehensive, co-ordinated and collaborative approach will be adopted by the three bodies to ensure that the diversity strategy is delivered effectively.
This strategy is supported by research commissioned by my department to better understand the reasons for the under-representation of women and members of black and minority ethnic communities in the judiciary. The research, undertaken by Opinion Leader Research, has today been published on the DCA website (www.dca.gov.uk) and copies placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
I am also announcing today further measures to promote greater diversity in the judiciary:
the Judicial Work Shadowing Scheme is to be extended to cover tribunals, with 10 tribunals having signed up to participate in the scheme, so as to provide potential applicants with an enhanced understanding of judicial opportunities; and a working group involving members of the judiciary and magistracy has reported on how experience as a magistrate can be counted in lieu of some sittings as a fee-paid judge, helping to encourage those from different backgrounds to consider a judicial career. The Judicial Appointments Commission will consider how best to take forward this work.
The new strategy will ensure that my department, the Judicial Appointments Commission and the judiciary build on the success of recent years and continue to appoint judicial office-holders of the highest possible quality, in whom the public can have the utmost confidence.
The house of Lords is the upper chamber of the Houses of Parliament. It is filled with Lords (I.E. Lords, Dukes, Baron/esses, Earls, Marquis/esses, Viscounts, Count/esses, etc.) The Lords consider proposals from the EU or from the commons. They can then reject a bill, accept it, or make amendments. If a bill is rejected, the commons can send it back to the lords for re-discussion. The Lords cannot stop a bill for longer than one parliamentary session. If a bill is accepted, it is forwarded to the Queen, who will then sign it and make it law. If a bill is amended, the amended bill is sent back to the House of Commons for discussion.
The Lords are not elected; they are appointed. Lords can take a "whip", that is to say, they can choose a party to represent. Currently, most Peers are Conservative.
The House of Commons votes by dividing. Those voting Aye (yes) to any proposition walk through the division lobby to the right of the Speaker and those voting no through the lobby to the left. In each of the lobbies there are desks occupied by Clerks who tick Members' names off division lists as they pass through. Then at the exit doors the Members are counted by two Members acting as tellers. The Speaker calls for a vote by announcing "Clear the Lobbies". In the House of Lords "Clear the Bar" is called. Division Bells ring throughout the building and the police direct all Strangers to leave the vicinity of the Members’ Lobby. They also walk through the public rooms of the House shouting "division". MPs have eight minutes to get to the Division Lobby before the doors are closed. Members make their way to the Chamber, where Whips are on hand to remind the uncertain which way, if any, their party is voting. Meanwhile the Clerks who will take the names of those voting have taken their place at the high tables with the alphabetical lists of MPs' names on which ticks are made to record the vote. When the tellers are ready the counting process begins - the recording of names by the Clerk and the counting of heads by the tellers. When both lobbies have been counted and the figures entered on a card this is given to the Speaker who reads the figures and announces "So the Ayes [or Noes] have it". In the House of Lords the process is the same except that the Lobbies are called the Contents Lobby and the Not Contents Lobby. Unlike many other legislatures, the House of Commons and the House of Lords have not adopted a mechanical or electronic means of voting. This was considered in 1998 but rejected. Divisions rarely take less than ten minutes and those where most Members are voting usually take about fifteen. Further information can be obtained from factsheet P9 at the UK Parliament site.
