§ Mr. Arthur Lathamasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals there are to provide new and additional court buildings in the next 10 years; what is the estimated cost; and how these will be financed.
§ Dr. SummerskillThe White Paper on Public Expenditure to 1979–80 (Cmnd.30W 6393) deals at page 78 with magistrates' courts and coroners' courts as well as with the higher courts for which my noble and learned Friend the Lord Chancellor is responsible. Capital expenditure on magistrates' courts and coroners' courts will provide for completion of new courthouses already under construction and a small programme of new works in 1976–77. This includes 12 magistrates' courthouses, all of which will replace existing buildings. The total estimated cost is £8 million and the providing authorities are reimbursed as to 80 per cent, of their expenditure by specific grant.
The building programme for the Supreme Court and the county court is designed to provide more courtrooms to deal with the growing work load, particularly in the Crown court, and to replace unsatisfactory court accommodation. The estimated cost of the programme to 1979–80 is set out at page 82 of the White Paper. The costs are borne on the Votes of the Property Services Agency of the Department of the Environment.
Building programmes for years after 1979–80 will be decided upon in the context of subsequent White Papers.