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Courts (Access)
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will publish his strategy for the distribution of and provision of access to magistrates, crown, county and high court centres; and if he will make a statement. [49129]
Mr. Hoon: Magistrates courts are locally managed by magistrates courts committees under the provisions of the Justices of the Peace Act 1997. Decisions concerning the future and number of magistrates courts in their area are for the relevant MCC to determine. A local authority that contributes financially may appeal to the Lord Chancellor against a proposed closure. The procedure for such appeals is set out in section 56 of the Justices of the Peace Act 1997. In the absence of an appeal, however, the Lord Chancellor plays no part in the process.
The Court Service Agency is responsible for all civil and the higher criminal courts. It keeps court accommodation under constant review. In relation to the civil courts the Lord Chancellor is considering how and when the current changes in the working methods and procedures might create opportunities for better use of resources whilst maintaining similar or improved levels of facilities and services. No major changes to the current number or distribution of criminal centres are planned.
Mr. Garnier:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what criteria in respect of the public's travelling time, distance and cost he takes into account when considering the closure of any court. [49126]
Mr. Hoon:
There are no specific cost or time thresholds which need to be breached before a closure proposal would be refused. Whilst distance and cost are important considerations, public facilities at the courts,
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waiting times, workload levels, and the overall standard of service which can be made available over the area as a whole also need to be taken into account.
Mr. Burstow:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list for (a) his Department and (b) bodies listed in the National Asset Register, how many vehicles are currently (i) owned and (ii) leased; if he will indicate their (A) fuel types and (B) engine cubic capacities; and how many vehicles are expected to fall due for replacement in each of the years (1) 1998-99, (2) 1999-2000 and (3) 2000-01. [49224]
| The Court Service | |
|---|---|
| Fuel | |
| Petrol | 36 |
| Diesel | 570 |
| Engine cc | |
| 1200 | 1 |
| 1300 | 1 |
| 1400 | 4 |
| 1600 | 16 |
| 1700 | 39 |
| 1800 | 366 |
| 1900 | 152 |
| 2000 | 22 |
| 2100 | 1 |
| 2200 | 3 |
| 2500 | 1 |
| Replacement date | |
| 1998-1999 | 403 |
| 1999-2000 | 153 |
| 2000-2001 | 50 |
| Lord Chancellor's Department HQ | The Court Service | Northern Ireland Court Service | HM Land Registry | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fuel | ||||
| Petrol | 15 | 3 | -- | 1 |
| Diesel | 1 | 1 | 1 | 41 |
| Engine cc | ||||
| 1500 | 2 | -- | -- | -- |
| 1600 | 3 | 1 | -- | -- |
| 1800 | -- | -- | -- | 33 |
| 1900 | -- | 1 | -- | -- |
| 2000 | 10 | 2 | -- | 9 |
| 2300 | 1 | -- | -- | -- |
| 5681 | -- | 1 | -- | -- |
| Replacement date | ||||
| 1998-1999 | 4 | 4 | -- | 10 |
| 1999-2000 | 5 | -- | -- | 4 |
| 2000-2001 | 7 | -- | 1 | 8 |
County Courts
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list those county courts which have been closed in each of the last four years for which figures are available. [49121]
Mr. Hoon: A list of the county courts closed in the last four years is shown.
(9) Courts with caller office status
(10) Courts where Circuit Administrators have undertaken to continue local District Judge sittings in suitable accommodation subject to demand
Note:
Two county court closures have been announced recently: Rochdale County Court and Holywell County Court will close on 7 September 1998
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6 Jul 1998 : Column: 381
Mr. Garnier:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what plans he has to implement the Middleton report's recommendation on county courts closures alongside the Woolf report's recommendation that the report's civil justice reforms should be introduced by April 1999. [49128]
Mr. Hoon:
The Lord Chancellor does not consider the Middleton Report's recommendations for widespread county court closures, without providing services in other ways, as the right way forward and has no plans to implement them.
Mr. Garnier:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many county courts there are currently in England and Wales; which have facilities for hearings in open court; which have family, bankruptcy and district registry jurisdictions; and if he will list those which his Department or the Court Service
6 Jul 1998 : Column: 382
are currently considering for or consulting on closure (a) in the current financial year and (b) in each of the next four years. [49120]
Mr. Hoon:
There are currently 233 county courts in England and Wales. With the closure of Rochdale County Court and Holywell County Court in September 1998 the number will be 231. All the county courts have facilities for hearings in open court. 177 county courts have family jurisdiction. In September, with the closure of Rochdale County Court, there will be 176. 112 county courts have bankruptcy jurisdiction. With the closure of Rochdale County Court there will be 111. 135 county courts have a district registry. When Rochdale County Court closes there will be 134.
In the last financial year the Lord Chancellor gave permission to go to public consultation on the following county courts: Hemel Hempstead, Holywell, Rochdale,
6 Jul 1998 : Column: 383
Camborne & Redruth, Poole, Shrewsbury, West Bromwich and Evesham.
The only other permission given by the Lord Chancellor to go to public consultation relates to the current financial year and is in respect of Corby and Loughborough County Courts.
Mr. Garnier:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what was the reduction in (a) revenue and (b) capital budgets of the Court Service as a consequence of the closures of county courts in each of the last four years for which figures are available. [49122]
Mr. Hoon:
There has been no reduction in either revenue or capital budgets as a direct result of court closures.
Mr. Garnier:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many Court Service or Lord Chancellor's Department jobs were abolished as a result of county court closures in the last four years. [49124]
Mr. Hoon:
The business case in support of a proposal for closure of a county court must give information on the numbers and grades of staff together with details of their redeployment. Any reduction in staff numbers is a result of a fall in civil business generally and not of court closures.
Mr. Garnier:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what assessment he has made of the Middleton report's recommendation that on financial grounds large numbers of county courts should be closed; and if he will make a statement in that regard about his policy of increasing access to justice. [49127]
Mr. Hoon:
The civil justice reforms on which Sir Peter Middleton reported form only part of major current changes in the working methods and procedures of the civil courts. The Lord Chancellor is considering how, and when, those changes might create opportunities for better use of resources while maintaining similar or improved levels of facilities and services. This is a better way forward than the wholesale closures recommended in the Middleton report. Court accommodation is kept under continuous review and proposals for the closure of courts are considered on an individual basis.
Mr. Garnier:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what assessment he has made of the financial implications of county court closures for (a) the Legal Aid Board and (b) non-legally aided litigants. [49123]
Mr. Hoon:
There are no specific financial thresholds that need to be breached before a closure proposal would be refused. Whilst financial implications are important considerations, the costs and practical implications of running a court, the public facilities, waiting times, workload levels and the overall standard of service that can be made available over the area as a whole also need to be taken into account.
Mr. Garnier:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department on how many occasions in the last four years for which figures are available his Department or the Court Service has consulted the public
6 Jul 1998 : Column: 384
about a proposed county court closure in England and Wales and, as a consequence, not closed the court, identifying in each case the court in question. [49125]
Mr. Hoon:
In the last four years two county courts have remained open following public consultation. Closure of Gravesend County Court was not taken forward after consultation in 1994. Kettering County Court, proposed for closure in 1993 was later relocated within Kettering in more satisfactory accommodation.
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