§ Mr. ToddTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many cases have been tried at Swadlincote magistrates' court in each of the last five years. [32101]
§ Mr. HoonThe Lord Chancellor's Department does not collect statistics at this level of detail. Swadlincote forms part of the Derby and South Derbyshire Petty Sessional Division, where 11,599; 12,184; 12,804; 12,456 and 12,862 cases were completed in 1993–1997 respectively.
§ Mr. ToddTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what guidance he has issued to county magistrates' committees on the allocation of cases where the nearest convenient magistrates' court for a locality is in another county. [32180]
§ Mr. HoonNo guidance has been issued.
The magistrates' courts have statutory jurisdiction to try indictable offences triable either way and to deal with preliminary matters relating to indictable-only offences, wherever committed, by virtue of the Magistrates' Court Act 1980.
786WSection 2(1) of that Act provides that a magistrates' court for a commission area shall have jurisdiction to try all summary offences committed within that commission area.
§ Mr. ToddTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department on how many occasions police witnesses have been called at Swadlincote Magistrates' Court in each of the last five years. [32179]
§ Mr. HoonThese figures are not collected centrally, and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
§ Mr. ToddTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what guidelines are available to county magistrates' committees to define the appropriate geographical distance and elapsed travel time from an individual's locality to the magistrates' court at which his case is to be heard. [32178]
§ Mr. HoonNo formal guidelines are issued by the Department. Decisions on accessibility of magistrates' courts are a matter for each magistrates' courts committee (MCC) to determine in conjunction with their paying authority.
However, distance and travelling time between one court and another is one of the geographical factors that is taken into account when the Lord Chancellor considers an appeal against the proposed closure of a magistrates' court in accordance with section 56 of the Justices of the Peace Act 1997.
Also, when assessing the need for new buildings with a Private Finance Initiative provider, the Department suggests that courthouses should be within 10–15 minutes' walk of more than one form of public transport. The Department does not provide guidance on total travel distance or time.
§ Mr. ToddTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what assessment he has made of the reasons which have led to the transfer of cases to other courts from Swadlincote Magistrates' Court over the last five years; and if he will estimate the number of cases transferred on account of each reason. [32177]
§ Mr. HoonI have made no assessment. All decisions concerning the transfer of cases in a given area are for the relevant magistrates' courts committee (MCC) to determine. Each MCC has a statutory responsibility to provide an efficient and effective service to court users.
It is the practice of Courts Administration at Derby to ensure that all cases which arise in the South Derbyshire area are listed for hearing at Swadlincote. The only cases that have been transferred to other courts from the Swadlincote Magistrates' Court are the overflow of youth court cases. The Swadlincote Youth Court sits for only one day per month. Therefore, to avoid unnecessary delay, a case may be heard at one of the courts in the Derby City if there is an earlier date for hearing before a youth court panel sitting in one of the Derby City courts.
§ Mr. Barry JonesTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what is his policy on the operation of magistrates' courts committees. [32217]
§ Mr. HoonThe Government have a policy on the operation of magistrates' courts committees (MCC) which is given effect in section 31 of the Justices of the Peace Act 1997. The Act explains that each MCC has a statutory 787W responsibility to provide an efficient and effective service to court users. The committee will, of course, have regard to the quality of service which it is seeking to deliver locally.
The Justices of the Peace Act 1997 also provides the mechanism for any changes that an MCC may wish to effect to aid the delivery of the service provided. The Lord Chancellor may be asked to consider application or appeals arising from such proposals.
§ Mr. Barry JonesTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list the magistrates' courts that(a) have been closed and (b) are scheduled to be closed in each of the counties of Wales since 1990; and if he will make a statement. [32216]
§ Mr. HoonSince 1990 there have been a significant number of local government changes in Wales. To answer this question, it would be necessary to reconstruct the history of those changes, as this information is not complied centrally or stored locally. To do so would involve great effort and could be completed only at disproportionate cost.
However, a survey was conducted in 1996 on courthouse numbers for each magistrates' courts committee which revealed a decreased number of magistrates' courts in Wales. In 1992 there were 70 courts; in 1993, 65; in 1994, 63; in 1995, 60; and 1996, 57.
788W
Year £ Lord Chancellor's Department Monitoring the Small Claims Limit 1997–98 40,800 Literature Reviews on Delays in the Criminal Justice System 1997–98 4,640 Research Review on Law and Economics 1997–98 4,000 The Workings of the Child Abduction Conventions 1997–98 6,457 Regulating Legal Services 1997–98 9,000 Distribution of Pension Rights Following Divorce 1997–98 4,900 Review of the Court of Appeal 1997–98 13,486 Project on Judicial Appointments Commissions 1997–98 2,250 Judicial Appointments: A Critical Review of the Practice Outside the UK 1997–98 8,400 Contracting for Civil Litigation: Modelling Research 1997–98 1,800 Literature Review of International Experience in the Field of Health Economics 1997–98 8,000 Previous Misconduct of Defendants before Magistrates 1997–98 33,940 Review Papers on Marriage 1997–98 75,150 ADR in the Court of Appeal: Preliminary Work 1997–98 5,000 Testing Fast Track Procedures Through Hypothetical Case Studies 1997–98 96,000 Fast Track Simulation Pilot 1997–98 31,386 Contracting to Legal Services Under Different Costs Rules 1997–98 6,200 Ancillary Relief Pilot Project 1997–98 231,735 Monitoring Mediation at Central London County Court 1998–99 23,615 Intergenerational Qualitative Study of Marriage 1998–99 71,906 Empirical Analysis of Litigation: A Survey of the Economics Literature 1998–99 8,000 The Impact of Plaintiff's Source of Funding on Litigants Behaviour 1998–99 43,800 Criminal Justice Reform and the Organisation of Criminal Defence Services 1998–99 15,200 Toward a Civil Justice Audit 1998–99 32,168 Study of Services to Litigants in Person Provided by the CAB in the RCJ 1998–99 1,063 Children in Divorce 1998–99 190,317 The Applicability to other Tribunals and Court Jurisdictions of the Organisational Principles and Practices of the London Parking Appeals Service 1998–99 24,193 The Economic Impact of the Quality of Legal Machinery 1998–99 2,500 Pilot Study: Homelessness Cases in the County Court 1998–99 30,989 Government Policies & Lawyers Roles: Evaluation & Approaches to Research 1998–99 10,875 Information Meetings 1999–2000 1,371,307 Professionalising Lay Justice: The Role & Function of Clerks to the Magistrates in Care Proceedings 1999–2000 40,222 Civil Legal Aid for Children: A Mapping Exercise 1999–2000 24,654 New Public Management & the Administration of Justice in the Magistrates' Court 1999–2000 25,000 Decisions concerning the future of a magistrates' court is for the relevant MCC to determine. A local authority that contributed financially may appeal to the Lord Chancellor against a proposed closure. The procedure for such appeals is set out in section 56 of the Justices of the Peace Act 1997. This is the only time that I will be informed of a proposed magistrates' court closure. In the absence of an appeal, however, the Lord Chancellor plays no part in the process.
§ Mr. Barry JonesTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many(a) magistrates and (b) magistrates' courts' clerks in Wales are (i) male and (ii) female. [32218]
§ Mr. HoonThere are 1,110 male and 886 female magistrates, and 56 male and 54 female magistrates' courts' clerks in Wales.