§ Hugh BayleyTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department for how many days York magistrates court was closed during and following the flood in York in November 2000; what arrangements were made to transfer cases to other premises during the closure; what were the direct costs of transferring these cases and the indirect costs to the public purse of the loss of use of the York court; and what assessment she has made of the wider economic cost to those using York magistrates court and the lawyers representing them of the closure. [80995]
§ Yvette CooperThe floods in York began to affect York magistrates court during the weekend of 4–5 November 2000. The courthouse did not close, and the courtrooms continued to operate. The cells were unusable from 4 November 2000 until 24 March 2001—a period of 140 days (20 weeks). Those cases involving defendants in custody were transferred to Selby magistrates court; all other cases continued to be dealt with at York.
Any additional revenue costs such as travelling expenses, heating/lighting at Selby were met from within the MCC's existing revenue budget.
No assessment has been made of the overall economic costs of transferring those cases to Selby.
§ Hugh BayleyTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what damage was done to York magistrates court by the flood in November 2000; how much it cost to repair the damage; and whether the cost of the repairs was covered by insurance. [80996]
§ Yvette CooperThe flood water entered the basement, the ground floor offices and the cell areas of the law courts, all of which were damaged and required repair. £35,000 was spent on replacing damaged furniture. The remaining costs—to repair the plasterwork and replace carpeting (a total of £55,000) were covered by the court's insurance policy.