Ninety one 'surplus' courts face closure

The government is consulting on plans to close 91 courts and tribunals in England and Wales.

The aim is to reduce what Justice Secretary Michael Gove has identified as "surplus capacity".

Courts under threat include 57 magistrates' courts, 19 county courts, two crown courts, four tribunal hearing centres and nine combined courts.

Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service operates 460 courts and tribunal hearing centres.

The government has also announced it is "integrating" a further 31 tribunals in England and Wales.

'Difficult decisions'

In a written statement, the parliamentary under-secretary of state for courts and legal aid, Shailesh Vara, said the service's estate was "underused" and cost the taxpayer about £500m every year.

He said better access to justice could only be provided if "difficult decisions" were taken to reduce the cost of the estate and reinvest the savings.

"Last year over a third of all courts and tribunals were empty for more than 50% of their available hearing time," he said.

"The buildings being consulted on represent 16% of hearing rooms across the estate which are, on average, used for only a third of their available time.

"That is equivalent to fewer than two out of five days in a week."

Technology such as video, telephone and online conferencing would reduce the need for face-to-face hearings, which should be reserved for "the most sensitive or complex cases", Mr Vara said.

In rural locations, public buildings, such as town halls, could be used for hearings instead of "underused, poorly-maintained permanent courts", he suggested.

He said that after the changes, more than 95% of citizens would still be able to reach their required court within an hour by car.

'Action required'

The Public and Commercial Services union, which represents many court workers, said the proposals would restrict access to justice. It promised to challenge the Ministry of Justice's method for calculating underuse of courtrooms.

General Secretary Mark Serwotka said: "With courts closures and cuts to legal aid, access to justice has been significantly restricted by the previous government and now this one.

"We do not believe it is in the interests of justice to leave our communities without easy access to courthouses and tribunals."

Lucy Hastings, of the independent charity Victim Support, said the government needed to make the court process more efficient.

She said the Crown Court system was taking longer than at any point in the past 15 years to process cases, and the backlog of outstanding cases now stood at over 54,000.

"Action is required to reduce the long waits faced by victims and witnesses in seeing offenders brought to justice," she said.

The consultation will run for 12 weeks until 8 October.

A full list of the courts affected:

London

Bow County Court

Feltham Magistrates' Court

Greenwich Magistrates' Court

Hammersmith County Court (formerly West London County Court)

Lambeth County Court

Pocock Street Tribunal Hearing Centre

Richmond-upon-Thames Magistrates' Court

Tottenham Magistrates' Court

Waltham Forest Magistrates' Court

Woolwich County Court

Midlands

Birmingham Youth Court

Burton-upon-Trent Magistrates' Court

Buxton Magistrates' and County Court

Corby Magistrates' Court

Grantham Magistrates' Court

Hinckley Magistrates' Court

Kettering County Court

Kettering Magistrates' Court

Sandwell Magistrates' Court

Shrewsbury Magistrates' Court

Skegness Magistrates' Court

Solihull Magistrates' Court

Stafford Magistrates' Court

Worksop Magistrates' Court

North East

Consett Magistrates' Court

Halifax County Court and Family Court

Halifax (Calderdale) Magistrates' and Family Court

Hartlepool Magistrates' Court and County Court

Morpeth County Court

Rotherham Magistrates' Court, County Court and Family Court

Scunthorpe Magistrates' Court, County Court and Family Court

Wakefield Magistrates' Court

North West

Accrington County Court

Accrington Magistrates' Court

Bolton County Court and Family Court

Bury Magistrates' Court and County Court

Kendal Magistrates' Court and County Court

Macclesfield County Court

Macclesfield Magistrates' Court

Oldham County Court

Oldham Magistrates' Court

Ormskirk Magistrates' Court and Family Court

Runcorn (Halton) Magistrates' Court

St Helens Magistrates' Court and County Court

Stockport Magistrates' Court and County Court

Tameside County Court

Trafford Magistrates' Court and Altrincham County Court

Warrington County Court

West Cumbria Magistrates' Court and County Court

South East

Aylesbury Magistrates' Court, County Court and Family Court

Basildon Social Security and Child Support Tribunal (Acorn House)

Bedford and Mid Beds Magistrates' Court and Family Court and Bedford County Court and Family Court

Bicester Magistrates' Court and Family Court

Bury St. Edmunds Magistrates' Court and Family Court and Bury St. Edmunds Crown Court

Chichester Combined Court (Crown and County)

Chichester Magistrates' Court

Colchester County Court and Family Court

Colchester County Court Offices

Dartford Magistrates' Court

Dover Magistrates' Court

Eastbourne Magistrates' Court, County Court and Family Court

Harlow Magistrates' Court

Kings Lynn County Court and Family Court

Lowestoft Magistrates' Court, County Court and Family Court

Redhill Magistrates' Court and Family Court and Reigate County Court and Family Court

St Albans County Court

Tunbridge Wells County Court and Family Court

Watford Magistrates' Court and Family Court

West Berkshire (Newbury) Magistrates' Court

South West

Barnstaple Crown Court

Bath Magistrates' Court, County Court and Family Court or North Avon (Yate) Magistrates' Court

Bournemouth Magistrates' Court

Cheltenham Rivershill House Tribunal

Chippenham Magistrates' Court, Civil Court and Family Court

Dorchester Crown Court

Fareham Magistrates' Court

Gloucester Magistrates' Court

North Avon (Yate) Magistrates' Court or Bath Magistrates' Court, County Court and Family Court

Stroud Magistrates' Court

Torquay Magistrates' Court

Wales

Brecon Law Courts

Bridgend Law Courts

Carmarthen Civil, Family, Tribunal and Probate Hearing Centre

Carmarthen Law Courts (The Guildhall)

Dolgellau Crown and Magistrates' Court

Holyhead Magistrates' Court

Llangefni Civil and Family Court

Neath and Port Talbot Civil and Family Court

Pontypridd Magistrates' Court

Prestatyn Magistrates' Court