Government unveils court closure programme

The government has unveiled plans to close nearly a third of the courts network across England and Wales.

A consultation paper, issued yesterday by the Ministry of Justice, seeks views on proposals to shut down 103 magistrates and 54 county courts, where many personal injury cases are handled.

It says that many of the 530 courts currently used by Her Majesty’s Courts Services are “underused and inadequate” and “do not fit the needs of modern communities”, adding that the current number and location does not reflect recent changes in population, workload or transport and communication links.

The closures are designed to deliver savings of around £15.3m per year on running costs and £21.5m on maintenance costs. There will also be savings for other justice agencies by focusing their attendance at a single accessible location within a community.

Courts Minister Jonathan Djanogly said: “When public finances are under pressure, it is vital to eliminate waste and reduce costs. The government is committed to supporting local justice, enabling justice to be done and seen to be done in our communities.

“The arrangements we have are historical and now need to be re-assessed to ask whether they properly meet the needs of communities as they are today – we increasingly use the internet and email to communicate and access services and we travel further to work, for leisure and to do our weekly shop. We now have the opportunity to think afresh about how we can create a more modern fit-for-purpose justice system in line with the way we live our lives today.”

“Not all disputes need to be resolved in court. I want to explore whether more people can resolve their disputes in a way that leads to faster and more satisfactory solutions. Across the civil, family and criminal courts I want to explore ways we can harness technology more effectively so people don’t necessarily have to physically attend court when they give evidence or access court services.

“We should not think about access to justice as simply a question of length of the journey to the nearest court. In the future, we need to look at whether through the more effective use of video and telephone links and other technology including online services, we can improve the public’s experience of the justice system.”