HC Deb 07 February 1963 vol 671 cc643-4
8. Mr. Cleaver

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he proposes to take to alleviate the overcrowding and unsatisfactory conditions at the Victoria Law Courts, Birmingham.

Mr. Fletcher-Cooke

The provision of court accommodation in Birmingham is primarily for the Birmingham City Council. My right hon. Friend hopes that the provisions of the Criminal Justice Administration Act, 1962, dealing with the arrangement of assize and quarter sessions business will bring some relief to the problems of congestion.

Mr. Cleaver

Is my hon. and learned Friend aware that assize courts, quarter sessions and magistrates' courts are often all held on the same day, with the result that there is almost chaos in the courts? Is he further aware that there is no accommodation for juries-in-waiting or for probation interviews?

Mr. Fletcher-Cooke

The accommodation is certainly bad, but it was part of the object of the 1962 Act to spread this work over the year by means of new assize arrangements and thus avoid the sort of clash that my hon. Friend has in mind. I must reiterate that for new courts proposals must come from the city council itself in the first instance.