HC Deb 25 January 2000 vol 343 cc138-9
31. Mr. Norman Baker (Lewes)

If he will make a statement on his policy in respect of access to courts within Sussex. [104959]

The Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department (Jane Kennedy)

Government policy is that the administration of magistrates courts is best conducted locally. Decisions concerning the location and number of magistrates courts in its area are for the relevant courts committee to determine. With regard to Crown and county courts, the Court Service is required to monitor and review the viability of its court network. There are no current changes planned in respect of accessibility to the Crown or county court network in Sussex.

Mr. Baker

Does the Minister agree that in terms of justice courts have to be local and accessible? In the light of the proposed merger of magistrates court functions in east and west sussex, can she guarantee that she will be unwilling to agree to any closure of magistrates courts there as a consequence of bringing the administration together?

Jane Kennedy

It is for the new merged magistrates courts committee to decide how best to deploy its resources, but I can assure the hon. Gentleman that I shall always support changes that lead to the provision of a better and more efficient service for court users.

Mr. Nicholas Winterton (Macclesfield)

Has the Minister given a full and honest answer to the question asked by the hon. Member for Lewes (Mr. Baker)? She said that decisions in respect of magistrates courts should be taken locally, but is she not incorrect? That decision has been influenced by the amount of money available and that money is advanced by the Government through the Lord Chancellor's Department. The problems of Sussex are reflected in many other parts of the country—not least Cheshire, and Macclesfield in particular.

Jane Kennedy

The hon. Gentleman knows that magistrates courts committees have to manage their budgets within the resources available to them. Those committees are made up of local magistrates drawn from local magistrates benches. Most of the magistrates courts that have closed so far have been ones that the committees no longer felt able to justify, either because substandard facilities would have to be replaced or because they were satellite courts—local council chambers that were severely lacking in necessary facilities, for example.

Madam Speaker

The Minister has now widened the question somewhat. Mr. Burnett, I will allow you to put a question in that case.

Mr. John Burnett (Torridge and West Devon)

I am extremely grateful to you, Madam Speaker.

I would remind the Minister and the House of what the Minister just said in answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Lewes (Mr. Baker), to the effect that justice should be done and seen to be done locally. Will she please explain that to the magistrates courts committee of Devon and Cornwall, which is now discussing a proposal to close 13 magistrates courts in those counties?

Jane Kennedy

I am aware of the proposals announced last week. I am also aware of the local response to them. All such decisions when considered by magistrates courts committees locally will be subject to the right of appeal. Those appeals, if they are lodged in the cases of the courts to which the hon. Gentleman refers, will come to my noble Friend the Lord Chancellor. At that point it will be appropriate for me to comment on the detail.

Mrs. Gwyneth Dunwoody (Crewe and Nantwich)

In Sussex, just as in Cheshire, I suspect, there is no geographical representation on the magistrates courts committees that are apparently charged with these decisions. That means that those of us who feel very strongly that local justice is best available locally are in some difficulty when we are told that a non-elected committee is taking major decisions that affect the location of courts. I hope that my hon. Friend will bear that in mind.

Jane Kennedy

We do listen very carefully in the Department to the case that is presented when appeals come forward. All the points that are made by local representation, by the paying authority and by hon. Members, are listened to very carefully, and consideration is given in the greatest detail to the case that is made.