§ Mr. Morganasked the Attorney-General whether he will give an assurance that all criminal cases committed for trial from magistrates' courts in the county of Clwyd will, save in exceptional circumstances, be heard at the Mold Crown Court.
§ The Solicitor-GeneralNo. My noble Friend considers that it would not be in the interests of the administration of justice to give such an assurance. The majority of criminal cases committed from the county of Clwyd are in fact heard at Mold, but the close proximity of a Crown court centre in Chester enables some cases to be taken more conveniently and expeditiously there. Cases are normally transfered with the consent of the parties, and it is open to any party to object to a proposed transfer, either informally or by means of an application under Section 7 of the Courts Act 1971.