To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people worked for the Advisory Panel on Judicial Diversity in each of the last three years. (304319)

The independent Advisory Panel on Judicial Diversity, chaired by Baroness Neuberger, did not exist before April 2009 and is now due to produce its report and conclude its work in early 2010. Therefore, the panel will only be operational for less than a calendar year.

The Advisory Panel on Judicial Diversity has no separate support. It is being supported by officials from within the Constitution and Judiciary Division of the Ministry of Justice, within existing budgets. None of the officials work full-time for or on the advisory panel, but seven spend significant time on it.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much the Advisory Panel on Judicial Diversity cost in each of the last three years. (304320)

The independent Advisory Panel on Judicial Diversity, chaired by Baroness Neuberger, did not exist before April 2009 and is now due to produce its report and conclude its work in early 2010. Therefore, the panel will only be operational for less than a calendar year and so will not have ongoing annual running costs.

The costs of the panel, from April 2009 to the end of October, were £20,975, excluding secretariat staff costs.