Private practice is so successful that lawyers are less likely to be tempted into joining the judiciary, the lord chief justice has told peers.

Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd yesterday told the House of Lords constitution committee that the judiciary is struggling to recruit people to the bench, particularly the High Court.

The problem has been created by the increasing appeal of staying in private practice combined with tax relief reforms last year. Thomas cited George Osborne’s decision to impose a £10,000 tax-free cap on pension contributions as a key factor in deterring people from applying.

‘There is no doubt at present times we are having difficulties,’ said Thomas. ‘The primary reasons are the legal profession in its private sector has been immensely prosperous for a number of years and fees have continued to rise and work has continued to flow into London.

‘The public sector has suffered very considerable pay restraint and last year was the most difficult in that the unintended effect of the decision of the chancellor of the exchequer to restrict tax relief on pensions to a maximum of £10,000 a year has had a very, very serious effect on the judiciary.’

The issue of salary and pensions, along with increasing volumes of work were ‘very substantial deterrents from people being attracted to the judiciary’, he added.

Thomas said the judiciary is ‘reasonably confident’ it is on the right track in terms of ensuring gender equality, but on ethnic minorities entering the profession ‘there is, I accept, a problem’.

This has been partly addressed by a mentoring scheme to help people through the application process, but the lord chief justice said progress has not been as fast as he would like.

On recruiting people from different backgrounds in general, Thomas said more needs to be done above and beyond the process of interviews, role-plays and references.

‘This is an area which needs examination. We have found the current system advantages very substantially those who practise in a particular area rather than someone from a different area but with outstanding potential.’

Major law firms, he noted, have made great strides in increasing diversity and have looked consciously at the number of women reaching partner level, but there remain ‘certain parts’ of the legal profession that have not changed.