ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE BILL [Lords] (Hansard, 30 April 1964)

§ Mr. Speaker
Would the hon. Member be good enough to assist me? I do not for the moment follow why the question he is raising would depend on the House deciding this Amendment one way or the other. Perhaps I have missed something, but if he would help me about that I would understand.

Mr. Gresham Cooke
In paragraph (e) the Middlesex area for the administration of justice is defined as— the London boroughs of Barnet, Brent…and Hounslow. Hounslow adjoins my constituency, and within Hounslow are both Brentford and Feltham. At the moment those are the magistrates' courts to which my constituents go. I am asking my right hon. Friend whether, resulting from this administration, the magistrates' courts will be in Richmond or in Hounslow.
What is the position about quarter sessions? Will they be held in Kingston upon Thames? I assume that Middlesex Quarter Sessions will be abolished. From the point of view of assizes, Twickenham is now part of the Greater London Council, the Metropolitan Police Area. Will the Old Bailey still be our assize court?
Twickenham has not got a police court at the moment. It is a very large borough, larger than Oxford. It is high time that Twickenham had its own magistrates' court. It is inconvenient to go to Brentford or Feltham for the administration of justice. Richmond may be too small a court to take all our cases. I should be very much obliged 726 if my right hon. Friend would clear up what is to happen to my constituents when they give evidence or otherwise go to the petty sessional court.

§ Mr. Brooke
I am not sure whether I can keep in order in answering the questions asked by my hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Mr. Gresham Cooke). I can assure him that the Central Criminal Court at the Old Bailey will have its area enlarged to cover the whole of Greater London.
My hon. Friend is particularly interested in the Order which it will fall to me to make in due course dividing up the Commission areas into petty sessional divisions. I appreciate that the present borough of Twickenham is divided between two petty sessional divisions. So far as I can see, both these divisions will themselves be divided by the boundary of the Middlesex and the South-East London areas. It is clear that some rearrangement will be necessary. My present idea is to provide in the Order that there should be a new Twickenham division of the South-West London area, a division which will be co-extensive with the existing borough. My hon. Friend will appreciate that I have to have certain consultations before making the Orders. I will naturally pay attention to anything which is communicated to me on that, but that is the proposal which is at present in my mind.
As to quarter sessions, it is proposed that the Middlesex area quarter sessions should be held at Middlesex Guildhall for the time being.