The Lord Chancellor has commissioned the Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB) to conduct a Major Review of the judicial salary structure. The Ministry of Justice published the Terms of Reference on 13 May 2025; the SSRB accepted the commission on 15 May, confirming that its Judicial Sub‑Committee chaired by Mark Emerton will lead the work under the oversight of SSRB Chair Lea Paterson CBE. The SSRB is expected to submit its advice by November 2026.
The Terms direct the SSRB to examine three areas: persistent recruitment shortfalls in particular offices and regions; the attractiveness of judicial office, including the balance between fee‑paid and salaried roles; and organisation and leadership within the judiciary. The document notes recent pay awards of 7 percent and 6 percent in successive rounds and estimates the 2024/25 judicial paybill at £778 million, with recommendations expected to reflect affordability and support productivity across the justice system.
Scope spans salaried posts where remuneration is set by the Lord Chancellor, fee‑paid judges with a salaried comparator to understand the pipeline to salaried office, and relevant devolved judicial posts drawing evidence from the devolved administrations. Most fee‑paid non‑legal members remain out of scope following the 2023 review, and further pension reform and substantive changes to terms and conditions are expressly outside this remit. Annex A sets out the offices in scope, ranging from the Supreme Court to First‑tier and devolved tribunals.
Governance follows previous major reviews. Final recommendations rest with the full SSRB, which will be supported by a Judicial Sub‑Committee and an Advisory and Evidence Group bringing together representatives nominated by the judiciary across England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, the Ministry of Justice, and the appointments bodies in each jurisdiction.
Engagement has begun. The Sub‑Committee held the first Advisory and Evidence Group meeting in July 2025, agreed an eighteen‑month delivery plan, and scheduled visits across England and to Cardiff, Belfast, Edinburgh and Glasgow. A formal call for evidence was signalled for early November with closure at end‑January 2026; the online questionnaire opened on 17 November 2025 and invites responses from judges, organisations and the public.
Annual judicial pay rounds continue in parallel. For 2025/26 the previous Lord Chancellor implemented a 4 percent award against an SSRB recommendation of 4.75 percent, citing affordability and the role of the Major Review in addressing structural issues. The Ministry of Justice’s October 2025 evidence outlines the interaction with the Major Review and summarises current allowances, including London Weighting and leadership allowances, which the review has been asked to assess.
For practitioners, the Terms ask the SSRB to consider flexible pay options to respond to local recruitment pressures and temporary spikes in demand, to assess whether London Weighting remains effective, and to examine whether leadership roles-such as Sheriffs Principal and the Chief Coroner-are remunerated appropriately. Any proposals should, where possible, operate within existing salary groups to improve coherence and enable cross‑deployment.
Evidence gathering will involve written submissions and oral evidence, with the Advisory and Evidence Group helping to identify data gaps and priorities for any commissioned research. The Sub‑Committee has committed to periodic updates to the judiciary as milestones are reached, alongside direct engagement through visits and meetings.
This is the first major review since 2018, when the SSRB reported on judicial pay across the UK and ministers provided responses in late 2018 and mid‑2019. The current review is more narrowly focused on recruitment, attractiveness and leadership, with an explicit requirement to consider value for money and productivity.
Next steps are set out in the July update and Terms of Reference: evidence collection through winter 2025/26, analysis and drafting during 2026, and submission of advice to the Lord Chancellor by November 2026. Implementation decisions will rest with government, subject to statutory protections and budget constraints.