asked Her Majesty’s Government:

Further to the Written Answers by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2 July (WA 41-42) on appointments to the Northern Ireland Judicial Appointments Commission, to what extent the Lord Chancellor has carried out his statutory “community-reflective” responsibilities in making appointments to the commission. [HL4888]

The Justice (NI) Act 2002 provides that the Lord Chancellor, when making appointments to the Northern Ireland Judicial Appointments Commission, is to make such arrangements as will, so far as is practicable, secure that the membership of the commission is reflective of the community in Northern Ireland. The recent scheme to appoint a lay member to the commission included an outreach programme to give effect to the Lord Chancellor’s statutory duty in this regard.