§ 32. Mr. Graham Brady (Altrincham and Sale, West)If he will make a statement on the role of county courts in serving their local communities. [76337]
§ The Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department (Mr. Geoffrey Hoon)The location of county courts has historically reflected the business needs of the people in the immediate areas that they serve. As technology and communications advance, however, we will consider how services can be more economically and efficiently provided without affecting the level of service offered.
§ Mr. BradyI am grateful for that response, but the Minister could have gone further and recognised the enormous quantity of family and other work done by the county courts, which is of great importance in the local community. He is aware of concern in the courts surrounding Greater Manchester about proposed closure and relocation, and of my concern that the local function of courts should be taken into account. In that connection, will he give a commitment that where there are other court facilities that are under-utilised—I am thinking here of the Sale magistrates courts—those facilities will be looked at prior to any new-build options in the centre of Manchester?
§ Mr. HoonIt is important to draw a distinction between the times when people need to go to court for a case, when we must clearly take into account the distance that they have to travel—although that is quite rare because, fortunately, most people do not need to go to court repeatedly—and the function of the court service in providing information, which can be much more effectively delivered locally by telephone, fax or modern technology. To make that appropriate distinction will be to the benefit of the hon. Gentleman's constituents, allowing us to use the court estate as efficiently and effectively as possible.
§ Mrs. Gwyneth Dunwoody (Crewe and Nantwich)My hon. Friend is a sensible fellow, and I know that he will bear it in mind that there is absolutely no point in the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions asking people not to move important state facilities away from where people live and work if, at the same time, individual Whitehall Departments take decisions on a narrow economic basis. If he will undertake to bear that in mind before any more county courts are closed, we will all be a little happier.
§ Mr. HoonI assure my hon. Friend that we will take that into account. Let me repeat that it is important to distinguish between the relatively rare occasions when people go to court for cases, and the provision of information. We need to ensure that much more information is provided locally and that we use modern technology to deliver it much more efficiently than at present.