HL Deb 14 February 2001 vol 622 cc40-51WA
Lord Marlesford

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will publish a table in the Official Report to show, by each county in England and Wales, the location of each courthouse for use by magistrates available on 30th September 1995 and on 1st January 2001. [HL567]

The Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department (Lord Bach)

The information in the table is by Magistrates' Courts Committee area. The data in the column heades "Open as at 1/1/01" has been assembled from courthouse usage returns up to December 2000, not from a specific survey of courthouse, and is subject to confirmation on the next survey.

Location of Magistrates' Courts
MCC Courthouse Open as at 30/9/95 Open as at 1/1/01
Avon Bath
Avon Bristol
Avon Flax Bourton
Avon Weston super Mare
Avon Yale
Avon 5 5
Barking & Dagenham Barking (East Street)
Barking & Dagenham Barking (North Street)
Barking & Dagenham 2 2
Barnet Barnet
Barnet Hendon
Barnet 2 2
Barnsley Barnsley
Barnsley 1 1
Bedfordshire Ampthill closed
Bedfordshire Bedford
Bedfordshire Biggleswade closed
Bedfordshire Dunstable closed
Bedfordshire Leighton Buzzard closed
Bedfordshire Luton
Bedfordshire 6 2
Bexley Bexley
Bexley 1 1
Brent Brent
Brent 1 1
Bromley Bromley (London Road) not yet open
Bromley Bromley (South Street) closed
Bromley 1 1
Calderdale Halifax
Calderdale 1 1
Cambridgeshire Cambridge
Cambridgeshire Ely
Cambridgeshire Huntingdon
Cambridgeshire March closed
Cambridgeshire Peterborough
Cambridgeshire Wisbech
Cambridgeshire 6 5
Cheshire Chester
Cheshire Crewe
Cheshire Ellesmere Port closed
Cheshire Macclesfield (Hibel Rd)
Cheshire Macclesfield (Park Green)
Cheshire Northwich
Cheshire Runcorn
Cheshire Warrington (Arpley Street)
Cheshire Warrington (Patten Hall)
Cheshire Widnes
Cheshire 10 9
City of London City of London
City of London 1 1
Cleveland Guisborough
Cleveland Hartlepool
Cleveland Middlesbrough
Cleveland 3 3
Croydon Croydon
Croydon 1 1
Cumbria Appleby closed
Cumbria Barrow in Furness
Cumbria Carlisle
Cumbria Kendal
Cumbria Keswick closed
Cumbria Penrith
Cumbria Whitehaven
Cumbria Wigton closed
Cumbria Windemere closed

Location of Magistrates' Courts
MCC Courthouse Open as at SO/9/95 Open as at 1/1/01
Cumbria Workington
Cumbria 10 6
Derbyshire Alfreton
Derbyshire Ashbourne
Derbyshire Bakewell
Derbyshire Buxton
Derbyshire Chesterfield (Briminglon Rd)
Derbyshire Chesterfield (West Bars)
Derbyshire Derby (Bold Lane)
Derbyshire Derby (Derwent St)
Derbyshire Derby (Derwent Street)
Derbyshire Derby (Swadlincote)
Derbyshire Glossop
Derbyshire Ikeston
Derbyshire Matlock
Derbyshire 13 13
Devon & Cornwall Axminster
Devon & Cornwall Barnstaple
Devon & Cornwall Bideford
Devon & Cornwall Bodmin
Devon & Cornwall Camborne
Devon & Cornwall Cullompton
Devon & Cornwall Exeter
Devon & Cornwall Exmouth
Devon & Cornwall Honiton
Devon & Cornwall Isles of Scilly
Devon & Cornwall Kingsbridge
Devon & Cornwall Launceston
Devon & Cornwall Liskeard
Devon & Cornwall Newquay
Devon & Cornwall Newton Abbot
Devon & Cornwall Okehampton
Devon & Cornwall Penzance
Devon & Cornwall Plymouth
Devon & Cornwall South Molton
Devon & Cornwall Tavistock
Devon & Cornwall Teignmouth
Devon & Cornwall Tiverton
Devon & Cornwall Torquay
Devon & Cornwall Totnes
Devon & Cornwall Truro
Devon & Cornwall 25 25
Doncaster Doncaster
Doncaster Thorne closed
Doncaster 2 1
Dorset Blandford
Dorset Bournemouth
Dorset Bridport
Dorset Christchurch closed
Dorset Dorchester
Dorset Gillingham
Dorset Poole
Dorset Sherborne
Dorset Wareham
Dorset Weymouth
Dorset Wimborne
Dorset 11 10
Durham Barnard Castle closed
Durham Bishop Auckland
Durham Chester le Street
Durham Consett
Durham Darlington
Durham Durham
Durham Newton Aycliffe
Durham Peterlee
Durham Seaham closed
Durham 9 7
Dyfed Aberystwyth
Dyfed Ammanford
Dyfed Cardigan
Dyfed Carmarthen
Dyfed Haverfordwest
Dyfed Lampeter
Dyfed Llandovery
Dyfed Llanelli
Dyfed Pembroke closed
Dyfed Tenby

Location of Magistrates' Courts
MCC Courthouse Open as at 30/9/95 Open as at 1/1/01
Dyfed 10 9
Ealing Acton
Ealing Ealing
Ealing 2 2
East Sussex Brighton
East Sussex Eastbourne
East Sussex Hastings
East Sussex Lewes
East Sussex 4 4
Enfield Enfield
Enfield 1 1
Essex Basildon
Essex Braintree closed
Essex Chelmsford
Essex Clacton on Sea closed
Essex Colchester (Stanwell House)
Essex Colchester (Town Hall)
Essex Epping
Essex Grays
Essex Halstead closed
Essex Harlow
Essex Harwich
Essex Saffron Walden closed
Essex Southend on Sea
Essex Witham
Essex 14 10
Gateshead Blaydon
Gateshead Gateshead
Gateshead 2 2
Gloucestershire Cheltenham
Gloucestershire Cirencester
Gloucestershire Coleford
Gloucestershire Dursley
Gloucestershire Gloucester
Gloucestershire Stow on the Wold
Gloucestershire Stroud
Gloucestershire Tewkesbury
Gloucestershire Whitminster closed
Gloucestershire 9 8
Gwent Abergavenny
Gwent Abertillery
Gwent Bargoed closed
Gwent Blackwood
Gwent Caerphilly
Gwent Chepstow
Gwent Cwnbran
Gwent Monmouth closed
Gwent Newport (Civic Centre)
Gwent Newport (Pentonville)
Gwent Pontlottyn closed
Gwent Pontypool closed
Gwent Tredegar
Gwent 13 9
Hampshire Aldershot
Hampshire Alton
Hampshire Andover
Hampshire Basingstoke
Hampshire Eastleigh
Hampshire Fareham
Hampshire Havant
Hampshire Lyndhurst
Hampshire Portsmouth
Hampshire Southampton
Hampshire 10 10
Haringey Enfield
Haringey Highgate
Haringey 2 2
Harrow Harrow
Harrow 1 1
Havering Romford
Havering 1 1
Hereford & Worcester Bromsgrove closed
Hereford & Worcester Droitwich
Hereford & Worcester Evesham
Hereford & Worcester Hereford
Hereford & Worcester Kidderminster
Hereford & Worcester Ledbury closed

Location of Magistrates'Courts
MCC Courthouse Open as at 30/9/95 Open as at 1/1/01
Hereford & Worcester Leominster
Hereford & Worcester Redditch
Hereford & Worcester Worcester
Hereford & Worcester 9 7
Hertfordshire Bishop's Stortford closed
Hertfordshire Cheshunt
Hertfordshire Hatfield closed
Hertfordshire Hemel Hempstead
Hertfordshire Hertford
Hertfordshire Hitchin closed
Hertfordshire St. Albans
Hertfordshire Stevenage
Hertfordshire Watford
Hertfordshire 9 6
Hillingdon Uxbridge
Hillingdon 1 1
Hounslow Brentford
Hounslow Feltham
Hounslow 2 2
Humberside Bridlington
Humberside Brough
Humberside Driffield
Humberside Goole
Humberside Grimsby
Humberside Hornsea closed
Humberside Howden closed
Humberside Hull (Guildhall)
Humberside Hull (Lowgate)
Humberside Market Weighton closed
Humberside Pocklington
Humberside Scunthorpe
Humberside Withernsea
Humberside 13 10
Inner London Balham
Inner London Belmarsh
Inner London Bow Street
Inner London Camberwell Green
Inner London Clerkenwell closed
Inner London Greenwich
Inner London Hampstead closed
Inner London Highbury Corner
Inner London Horseferry Road
Inner London Marlborough Street closed
Inner London Marylebone (181 Marylebone Rd)
Inner London Marylebone (185 Marylebone Rd) closed
Inner London Old Street closed
Inner London Seymour Place closed
Inner London South Western
Inner London Thames
Inner London Tower Bridge
Inner London Wells Street
Inner London West London
Inner London Woolwich
Inner London 20 14
Isle of Wight Newport
Isle of Wight 1 1
Kent Ashford
Kent Canterbury
Kent Chatham
Kent Dartford
Kent Dover
Kent Folkestone
Kent Gravesham closed
Kent Maidstone
Kent Margate
Kent Sevenoaks
Kent Sheerness closed
Kent Sittingbourne
Kent Tonbridge closed
Kent Tunbridge Wells
Kent West Mailing closed
Kent 15 11
Kingston upon Kingston upon
Thames Thames
Kingston upon 1 1
Thames
Lancashire Accrington
Lancashire Blackburn

Location of Magistrates' Courts
MCC Courthouse Open as at 30/9/95 Open as at 1/1/01
Lancashire Blackpool
Lancashire Burnley
Lancashire Chorley
Lancashire Fleetwood
Lancashire Lancaster
Lancashire Leyland
Lancashire Lytham closed
Lancashire Ormskirk
Lancashire Preston
Lancashire Reedley
Lancashire Rossendale
Lancashire 13 12
Leeds Leeds
Leeds Morley closed
Leeds Otley closed
Leeds Pudsey closed
Leeds Wetherby
Leeds 5 2
Leicestershire Coalville
Leicestershire Hinckley
Leicestershire Leicester
Leicestershire Loughborough
Leicestershire Lutterworth closed
Leicestershire Market Harborough
Leicestershire Melton Mowbray
Leicestershire Rutland
Leicestershire 8 7
Lincolnshire Boston
Lincolnshire Bourne
Lincolnshire Caistor
Lincolnshire Gainsborough
Lincolnshire- Grantham
Lincolnshire Horncastle
Lincolnshire Lincoln
Lincolnshire Long Sutton
Lincolnshire Louth
Lincolnshire Market Rasen closed
Lincolnshire Skegness
Lincolnshire Sleaford
Lincolnshire Spalding
Lincolnshire Stamford
Lincolnshire 14 13
Manchester Manchester
Manchester 1 1
Merseyside Birkenhead
Merseyside Bootle
Merseyside Knowsley
Merseyside Liverpool (Crosshall St)
Merseyside Liverpool (Crown & Jerome Bldgs)
Merseyside Liverpool (Dale St)
Merseyside Southport
Merseyside St Helens
Merseyside Wallasey
Merseyside 9 9
Merton Wimbledon
Merton 1 1
Newcastle Upon Tyne Gosforth
Newcastle Upon Tyne Newcastle Upon Tyne
Newcastle Upon Tyne 2 2
Newham Stratford
Newham 1 1
Norfolk Cromer
Norfolk Diss closed
Norfolk East Dereham closed
Norfolk Fakenham
Norfolk Great Yarmouth
Norfolk Hunstanton closed
Norfolk King's Lynn
Norfolk Norwich
Norfolk Swaffham
Norfolk Thetford
Norfolk 10 7
North & West Bolton
Manchester
North & West Bury
Manchester
North & West Leigh
Manchester

Location of Magistrates' Courts
MCC Courthouse Open as at 30/9/95 Open as at 1/1/01
North & West Middleton
Manchester
North & West Rochdale
Manchester
North & West Salford
Manchester
North & West Wigan
Manchester
North & West 7 7
Manchester
North Tyneside North Shields
North Tyneside 1 1
North Wales Abergele
North Wales Amlwch closed
North Wales Bala closed
North Wales Bangor
North Wales Blaenau Festiniog closed
North Wales Caernarfon
North Wales Corwen closed
North Wales Denbigh
North Wales Dolgellau
North Wales Flint
North Wales Holyhead
North Wales Llandudno
North Wales Llangefni
North Wales Llangollen closed
North Wales Mold
North Wales Prestatyn
North Wales Pwlheli
North Wales Tywyn closed
North Wales Wrexham
North Wales 19 13
North Yorkshire Bedale closed
North Yorkshire Easingwold closed
North Yorkshire Harrogate
North Yorkshire Ingleton closed
North Yorkshire Leyburn closed
North Yorkshire Malton closed
North Yorkshire Northallerton
North Yorkshire Pickering
North Yorkshire Richmond
North Yorkshire Ripon closed
North Yorkshire Scarborough
North Yorkshire Selby
North Yorkshire Skipton
North Yorkshire Stokesley Closed
North Yorkshire Thirsk closed
North Yorkshire Whitby
North Yorkshire York
North Yorkshire 17 9
Northamptonshire Corby
Northamptonshire Daventry
Northamptonshire Kettering
Northamptonshire Northampton
Northamptonshire Towcester
Northamptonshire Wellingborough
Northamptonshire 6 6
Northumberland Alnwick
Northumberland Bedlington
Northumberland Berwick upon Tweed
Northumberland Hexham
Northumberland 4 4
Nottinghamshire Mansfield (Commercial St) closed
Nottinghamshire Mansfield (Rosemary St) not yet open
Nottinghamshire Newark
Nottinghamshire Nottingham (Carrington St) not yet open
Nottinghamshire Nottingham (Guildhall) closed
Nottinghamshire Nottingham (Sand Field House) closed
Nottinghamshire Retford
Nottinghamshire Worksop
Nottinghamshire 6 5
Oldham Oldham
Oldham 1 1
Powys Brecon
Powys Llandrindod Wells

Location of Magistrates' Courts
MCC Courthouse Open as at 30/9/95 Open as at 1/1/01
Powys Machynlleth
Powys Newtown
Powys Ystradgynlais
Powys 5 5
Redbridge Redbridge
Redbridge 1 1
Richmond upon Richmond upon
Thames Thames
Richmond upon 1 1
Thames
Rotherham Rotherham
Rotherham 1 1
Sheffield Shefield
Sheffield 1 1
Shropshire Bridgnorth
Shropshire Ludlow
Shropshire Market Drayton
Shropshire Oswestry
Shropshire Shrewsbury
Shropshire Telford
Shropshire Whitchurch
Shropshire 7 7
Somerset Bridgwater
Somerset Frome
Somerset Minehead
Somerset Taunton
Somerset Wells
Somerset Yeovil
Somerset 6 6
South Tyneside Hebburn closed
South Tyneside South Shields (Kepple Street) closed
South Tyneside South Shields (Millbank) not yet open
South Tyneside 2 1
South Wales Aberdare
South Wales Barry
South Wales Bridgend
South Wales Cardiff
South Wales Llantrisant
South Wales Merthyr Tydfil
South Wales Pontypridd
South Wales Rhondda
South Wales 8 8
Staffordshire Biddulph closed
Staffordshire Burton upon Trent
Staffordshire Cannock
Staffordshire Cheadle closed
Staffordshire Kidsgrove closed
Staffordshire Leek
Staffordshire Lichfield closed
Staffordshire Newcastle under Lyme
Staffordshire Rugeley
Staffordshire Stafford
Staffordshire Stoke on Trent
Staffordshire Tamworth
Staffordshire Wombourne
Staffordshire 13 9
Stockport Stockport
Stockport 1 1
Suffolk Bury St Edmunds
Suffolk Felixstowe closed
Suffolk Haverhill closed
Suffolk Ipswich
Suffolk Lowestoft
Suffolk Mildenhall
Suffolk Newmarket closed
Suffolk Saxmundham closed
Suffolk Stowmarket closed
Suffolk Sudbury
Suffolk 10 5
Sunderland Houghton le Spring
Sunderland Sunderland
Sunderland 2 2
Surrey Camberley
Surrey Chertsey closed
Surrey Dorking
Surrey Epsom
Surrey Farnham closed

Location of Magistrates' Courts
MCC Courthouse Open as at 30/9/95 Open as at 1/1/01
Surrey Guildford
Surrey Oxted closed
Surrey Redhill
Surrey Staines
Surrey Woking
Surrey 10 7
Sutton Sutton
Sutton 1 1
Tameside Ashton under Lyne (Henry Sq) not yet open
Tameside Ashton under Lyne (Manchester Rd) closed
Tameside Duckinsfield closed
Tameside 2 1
Thames Valley Abingdon closed
Thames Valley Amersham
Thames Valley Aylesbury
Thames Valley Banbury
Thames Valley Beaconsfield
Thames Valley Bicester
Thames Valley Bracknell
Thames Valley Buckingham
Thames Valley Didcot
Thames Valley Henley on Thames closed
Thames Valley Maidenhead
Thames Valley Milton Keynes
Thames Valley Newbury
Thames Valley Oxford
Thames Valley Reading
Thames Valley Slough
Thames Valley Thame
Thames Valley Wantage
Thames Valley Windsor closed
Thames Valley Witney
Thames Valley Wycombe
Thames Valley 21 18
Trafford Sale
Trafford 1 1
Waltham Forest Waltham Forest
Waltham Forest 1 1
Warwickshire Atherstone
Warwickshire Leamington Spa
Warwickshire Nuneaton
Warwickshire Rugby
Warwickshire Stratford upon Avon
Warwickshire 5 5
West Glamorgan Gowerton
West Glamorgan Neath
West Glamorgan Pontardawe closed
West Glamorgan Port Talbot
West Glamorgan Swansea
West Glamorgan 5 4
West Midlands Birmingham (Corporation St)
West Midlands Birmingham (Newton Street)
West Midlands Birmingham (Youth Court)
West Midlands Coventry
West Midlands Dudley
West Midlands Halesowen
West Midlands Solihull
West Midlands Stourbridge
West Midlands Sutton Coldfield
West Midlands Walsall (Aldridge)
West Midlands Walsall (Stafford Street)
West Midlands Warley
West Midlands West Bromwich
West Midlands Wolverhampton
West Midlands 14 14
West Riding Bingley
West Riding Bradford
West Riding Castleford
West Riding Dewsbury
West Riding Huddersfield
West Riding Keighley closed
West Riding Pontefract
West Riding Wakefield
West Riding 8 7

Location of Magistrates' Courts
MCC Courthouse Open as at 30/9/95 Open as at 1/1/01
West Sussex Arundel
West Sussex Chichester
West Sussex Crawley
West Sussex Haywards Heath
West Sussex Horsham
West Sussex Worthing
West Sussex 6 6
Wiltshire Chippenham (Market Place) closed
Wiltshire Chippenham (Pewsham Way) not yet open
Wiltshire Devizes
Wiltshire Salisbury
Wiltshire Swindon
Wiltshire Trowbridge
Wiltshire Wootton Bassett closed
Wiltshire 6 5
Grand Total 514* 428

* This corrects the number shown in an earlier answer to the noble Lord on 6 March 2000, Official Report (WA 129).

Lord Marlesford

asked Her Majesty's Government:

When government guidance was last issued to Magistrates' Courts Committees on the criteria they should use in determining the number and location of magistrates' courts in their areas; and whether they will put a copy of such guidance in the Library of the House. [HL568]

Lord Bach

The Government does not issue such guidance.

The only guidance of this kind is issued by the Central Council of Magistrates' Courts Committees. Last month, the Central Council published its revised edition of the 'Good Practice Guide on Courthouse Closure', which both Ministers and Her Majesty's Magistrates' Courts Service Inspectorate endorse.

Copies of this guidance have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Lord Marlesford

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Who is entitled to appeal to the Lord Chancellor against the closure of magistrates' courts; and whether they will list all such appeals made since the coining into force of the Justices of the Peace Act 1997 indicating the result of the appeal in each case. [HL569]

Lord Bach

Under Section 56(3) of the Justices of the Peace Act 1997, any paying authority (local authority that contributes financially) that is aggrieved by the determination of a Magistrates' Courts Committee to close a courthouse has the right to appeal to the Lord Chancellor within one month of receipt of written notification of the determination.

A list of appeals made since June 1997 when the Justices of the Peace Act 1997 came into force, is set out in the table.

Name MCC Name of Courthouse Decision Made Date of Decision
Staffordshire Kidsgrove, Biddulph & Cheadle Dismissed July 1997
North Wales Bleanau Ffestiniog and Llangollen Dismissed July 1997
West Glamorgan Pontedawe Dismissed October 1997
Hereford & Worcester Evesham, Bromsgrove, Ledbury Dismissed: Evesham retained October 1997
Gwent Bargoed, Chepstow, Monmouth, Pontlottyn, Pontypool Dismissed; Chepstow retained December 1997
North Yorkshire Malton (Norton), Stokesley Dismissed December 1997
Hertfordshire Hitchin, Hatfield, Bishop's Stortford Dismissed March 1998
Essex Braintree, Clacton, Saffron Walden Dismissed June 1998
North Yorkshire Ripon Dismissed June 1998
North Wales Corwen Dismissed August 1998
Suffolk Felixstowe, Stowmarket, Haverhill, Saxmundham, Newmarket Dismissed August 1998
Leeds Morley, Pudsey, Wetherby Dismissed; Wetherby retained October 1998
Derbyshire Ashbourne, Bakewell, Matlock, Swadlincote & New court at Chesterfield (7 courtrooms) New court at Derby (11 courtrooms) Dismissed November 1998
Berkshire & Oxfordshire Abingdon. Henley, Windsor Dismissed December 1998
Cambridgeshire March Dismissed December 1998
North Wales Holyhead, Mold, Prestatyn (Offices) Dismissed February 1999
Devon & Cornwall (shadow) location of court office: Derriford, Devon Allowed February 1999
Bedfordshire Ampthill; Biggleswade; Dunstable, Leighton Buzzard Dismissed April 1999
Gloucestershire Stow-on-the-Wold Dismissed May 1999
West Riding Keighley Dismissed February 2000
Cumbria Appleby, Keswick, Wigton, Windermere Dismissed 26.2.00
Staffordshire Lichfield, Dismissed 3.4.00

Name MCC Name of Courthouse Decision Made Dale of Decision
Wombourne (Seisdon) Allowed
Kent Gravesend Dismissed 8.05.00
Wiltshire Wootton Bassett Dismissed 04.07.00
North & West Greater Mancheser Middleton, Leigh Dismissed 20.12.00
Cheshire Patten Hall Withdrawn