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<p>The Government is investing over £1 million to support the recruitment of new and
diverse magistrates from under-represented groups such as those with disabilities.
On 17 January 2022, in partnership with the judiciary, we introduced a revised, streamlined
recruitment process.</p><p>The new process has been carefully designed with occupational
psychologists in line with current best practice to ensure it is fair, more inclusive
and more accessible to all candidates whilst remaining challenging and robust to identify
the best applicants.</p><p>Online applications replace the previous paper-based form,
with the website reaching the highest accessibility standards and adaptable to candidate’s
needs. As now, applicants will be asked to indicate on their application form if they
require any reasonable adjustments, and will be contacted directly to find out how
they can be supported through the process. The updated interview includes a mixture
of behavioural and situational questions, and no longer includes case study exercises,
as similar exercises have been shown to negatively impact individuals with certain
protected characteristics.</p><p>We will also launch an inclusive national marketing
campaign next week designed to encourage more applications from a broader range of
people. Importantly, the improved data we will collect via the new digital applicant
tracking system will help us to better monitor the diversity of applicants and appointments,
including disability, and identify opportunities for further improvements.</p>
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