Courts Service Estate

Christopher Pincher Excerpts

Tuesday 14th December 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Djanogly]

Yes, we have: we will be doing about £170,000-worth of work to accommodate the work from Rochdale magistrates court.

[Christopher Pincher (Tamworth) (Con)]

The state of the public finances notwithstanding, many people in Tamworth will be bitterly disappointed by the loss of both our county court and our magistrates court, which is the most utilised court in Staffordshire. What assurances can my hon. Friend give my constituents that the video-link technology between courts and police stations will be rolled out quickly so that our police will not spend all their time on the A38 to Burton, and that vulnerable people who will have to spend a day-long round trip going to Stafford county court will not have justice put beyond their means?

[Mr Djanogly]

The court is closing because it has a sitting day allocation of only 76 days, and the work will transfer to Burton magistrates court. I can tell my hon. Friend that we will be pushing ahead with the additional use of technology, which we see as the future. As things stand, the Courts Service does not make adequate use of modern technology.