§ Mrs. Margaret EwingTo ask the Attorney-General what was the cost of works carried out recently at Southwark Crown court; and if he will describe them.
§ The Attorney-GeneralThe recent alterations to courtrooms at the Crown court at Southwark were as follows:
612WCourt 2: For a trial which took place between May and August 1989 some fixed furniture was removed and replaced by loose furniture. The fixed furniture was replaced after the trial. In addition storage racks were provided and trunking for electrical cables. The total cost was £7,043. Further alterations which have recently been carried out are expected to cost about £25,000.
Court 4: For a trial which took place between May and December 1989 loose courtroom furniture and storage racks were provided at a cost of £4,216.
Court 1For a trial which took place in January 1990 loose furniture which had been used in earlier trials was provided. The cost of adapting the courtroom is expected to be about £2,000.
§ Mrs. Margaret EwingTo ask the Attorney-General what was the cost of works carried out recently to court 2 at Southwark Crown court, number 2; and if he will describe them.
§ The Attorney-GeneralThe cost of the recent alterations to court No. 2 at the Crown court at Southwark is expected to be about £25,000. The work carried out included removal of fixed furniture and its replacement by loose furniture, the supply of storage racking for papers, and the provision of microphones and amplification equipment.
The Crown court at Southwark has been designated by the Lord Chief Justice as one of a number of Crown court centres at which serious fraud cases may be tried. It is expected that more such cases will be tried there in the near future and that further use will be made of the adapted courtrooms.