§ 24. Mr. Henry Bellingham (North-West Norfolk)What recent representations he has received from magistrates courts in East Anglia about proposed court closures. [128468]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs (Mr. David Lammy)There are currently no plans for any court closures in East Anglia, and we have received no representations on this issue.
§ Mr. BellinghamSurely for justice to be seen to be done, it is highly desirable that most defendants be tried by magistrates as near as possible to the scene of the crime. Furthermore, the majority of members of the lay magistracy joined only because they wanted to sit in courts in their local towns. So why are the Government still giving the go-ahead to the closure of small magistrates courts in small towns—including some in Norfolk—that has taken place during the past six years? Do they not believe in the lay magistracy, and why are they undermining the morale of lay magistrates?
§ Mr. LammyThe hon. Gentleman has asked this question on three occasions in the past year and he is about to get the same reply. It is right and proper that magistrates live locally, but it is clear that we cannot have courts in every town. This Government closed six courts this year and seven last year; in the last year of the their Administration, the Conservatives closed 21.