Bedford Magistrates Court

Richard Fuller Excerpts

Tuesday 25th March 2014 Commons Chamber

[Richard Fuller (Bedford) (Con)]

Recently, Bedford magistrates marked their 650th anniversary—650 years of providing justice for the people and by the people. Now, that history of justice is being swept away, not by a democratic decision but by a small, distant group that blatantly disregards the will of the people, using a pretext that effectively, if not deliberately, misleads the very people they are supposed to serve. My objective tonight is to speak up for Bedford, to speak up for justice for the people of Bedford and to speak up for due process for the people of Bedford when important decisions about justice are made. In that task, I am very pleased to be joined by my right hon. Friend the Member for North East Bedfordshire (Alistair Burt).

The proposal in question is to centralise Bedfordshire adult and youth crime, local authority civil and crime cases and probation cases at Luton magistrates court, and for Bedfordshire family work to continue at Luton county court and at Bedford Shire hall. That is being presented—I am sure I will hear the Minister say the same—as a reallocation of case loads, but as I and my right hon. Friend will demonstrate, it is clearly and evidently not what it purports to be. It is not a reallocation of case loads; it is a closure of Bedford magistrates court by the back door, cleverly but unfairly bypassing the rights of the people.

In decisions about case loads, under clause 30 of the Courts Act 2003, the rules for the places, dates and times of sittings of magistrates courts are deemed to be for the Lord Chief Justice. Separately, however, if a decision relates to a closure, then, as confirmed in a parliamentary answer on 1 July 2010 to the hon. Member for Mid Dorset and North Poole (Annette Brooke), that decision is for the Lord Chancellor. That is right, because access to justice is a crucial social good. It is a social value, the arrangement of which needs ultimately to be determined by and to be answerable to Parliament.

In this particular instance, the people who made the decision, under the pretext of it being a reallocation of case loads, were a group called the justices issues group and the decision has not been placed under the responsibility of the Lord Chancellor. The justices issues group, at the meeting that made the determination, comprised—I think it is important to put their names on the record—Mr Barry Neale, who is chair of the Bedfordshire bench; Mr Neil Bunyan, the Magistrates’ Association representative; Mrs Diane Bedward, the Bedfordshire bench training and development committee chair; District Judge Leigh-Smith; and District Judge Mellanby. They were supported by clerk officials.

I am asserting that this is closure by the back door, so let me present some facts of my case to the Minister—I am sure that he is already aware of these. In his response to my parliamentary question on 24 February about the listing of cases in Bedfordshire, he kindly provided statistics for the past three years and the year-to-date figures for 2013. If I may, I shall use the statistics from 2012, as that is the last full year of data. In that year, 35,522 cases were heard in Bedfordshire, of which 19,675 were criminal cases. Of those criminal cases, just over 30%—6,148—were listed in Bedford and 70% in Luton. It is those 6,148 cases that will move.

In addition, the proportion of the 15,080 other cases currently listed in Bedford will also move to Luton. What will remain is the proportion of the 767 family cases that are listed in Bedford, which comes to 230—230 out of a total of 35,522. The key issue is whether that constitutes a closure.

As a result of that decision, just 0.7% of cases in Bedfordshire will be heard in Bedford, while 99.3% of them will be held in Luton. As a direct result, approximately 98% of the cases listed in Bedford will be transferred, but apparently that is not a closure, according to Mr Barry Neale and his fellow members of the Justices Issues Group.

This is a crucial issue for local people. It affects access to justice, the ability of people to get to their magistrates court and the costs for the police of attending when people cannot attend court and cases have to be deferred. It also puts pressure on that core part of the magistracy—the fact that we ask our magistrates voluntarily to give up their time to participate as members of the bench. It is also important because, as presented to me, it might represent an active manipulation of regulations to achieve an objective, a manipulation by people who ought to be sensitive to, and responsible for, not only the letter of the law but the spirit of the law.

Furthermore, that follows a pattern of reassurances being made to the people of Bedford but promises being broken. In 2010 this Government conducted a review following the closure of magistrates courts across the UK. I found the consultation document on proposals for Bedfordshire, which clearly states:

“There are no proposed changes to the provision of magistrates’ courts in Bedfordshire.”

In 2010 Mr Neale, as a member of the justices issues group, spoke to the local newspaper about changes being made to merge the Bedford and Luton magistrates benches. According to the newspaper:

“Mr Neale said if the merger were implemented, there were no proposals to close Bedford magistrates court… He added: ‘There will be no change as far as the public is concerned. Defendants, witnesses, victims and other court users should not be disadvantaged by where the case is heard… There will not be an adverse impact on the communities we serve. We will try to ensure that a case is heard closest to where the offence occurred and/or where the victim lives.’”

The concern is that the people of Bedford are once again being led down the garden path.

This is a crucial decision for justice for Bedford, but there is also a message for the people of Bedford, my constituents. We need to pull together more to achieve a better outcome for our home town. We need to be proud of our town, but we also need to do more.

Before I hand over to my right hon. Friend the Member for North East Bedfordshire, let me end with a quote from Kathryn Cain, a reporter with one of our local newspapers:

“What I love about Bedford isn’t just the amazing restaurants or the beautiful river, it is the sense of pride people living here feel about our town… Most importantly of all however is preserving local access to the justice system. Justice is meant to be administered by local people for local people”.

As a result of this decision, and with no democratic accountability, an effective closure of Bedford magistrates court is being undertaken.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Vara]

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for raising those two issues. First, he speaks of inadequate facilities, which implies that there is an underlying question of closure. There has been no reference to inadequate facilities because, as I speak, there are no plans for closure. I was not the Minister in 2010, but I presume that the closure of Bedford magistrates court was not considered at that time, when a large number of closures were considered.

Secondly, my right hon. Friend speaks of a difference of view about what has been said by the magistrates. There is one version and there is his version. I am happy to visit the magistrates court to meet him and my hon. Friend the Member for Bedford. They can bring the people whom they wish to invite and I will bring my officials. I will ensure that there is a proper dialogue, so that if there have been any miscommunications along the line, we can ensure that they are put right. I will facilitate that meeting, and what is more, I will be at it and will visit the court.

I described the facilities at Luton magistrates court, and there will be greater certainty for witnesses about where trials will be heard. As for family work, which will be heard at Bedford magistrates court, it is equally important for that work to be undertaken in suitable court accommodation, separate from criminal work, with co-location of all tiers of the family court judiciary. On the whole, the centralisation of criminal and family work will enable greater capacity to distribute the workload more effectively and ease waiting times in hearing and completing cases. It will provide greater resilience to cope with unexpected changes to workload, or to judicial or agency resources.

I reassure my hon. Friend the Member for Bedford and my right hon. Friend the Member for North East Bedfordshire that the decision to change the listing pattern at Bedford magistrates court was not taken in isolation. There were many other considerations, such as the local reduction in workload, particularly for trials, the need for improved performance and better utilisation of criminal justice system agency resources, and the commitment to maximise the use of digital technology.

As a result of the change in the listing pattern in the Bedfordshire area, some magistrates may incur additional travelling costs. However, they should not be financially disadvantaged, as justices’ allowances allow for the reimbursement of travelling costs incurred in the performance of a justice’s duties.

[Richard Fuller]

Will my hon. Friend give way?

[Mr Vara]

I am happy to give way, but my hon. Friend will be mindful of the fact that I have to wind up within the next three and a half minutes.

[Richard Fuller]

I am, but I wanted to place on record my thanks to the Minister for saying that as a result of the debate he will come to Bedford, take a personal interest in the issue and listen to members of the local community. As part of that, will he listen to the members of the local magistracy who have submitted their opposition to the proposed changes?

[Mr Vara]

If they wish to attend the meeting, they are welcome to do so. The meeting is to be organised by my hon. Friend and by my right hon. Friend the Member for North East Bedfordshire, and if they wish to invite them along, I would be more than happy to meet them.

As with magistrates, victims and witnesses attending court should not be financially disadvantaged. They will not incur additional travelling costs, because those are paid by the Crown Prosecution Service.

As the changes take place in Bedfordshire, we will ensure that we continue to provide a good service for victims and witnesses, including vulnerable witnesses. That means that where the situation demands it, applications for special measures may be made in cases involving vulnerable witnesses. When the grounds for such applications are accepted, the court may direct that the witness gives evidence from a location other than where the trial is being heard. For instance, applications may be made for witnesses to give evidence from Bedford magistrates court, or any other courthouse or premises with suitable secure video connectivity, to the trial court in Luton.

I hope that I have been able to reassure my hon. Friend the Member for Bedford that the decision to change the listing arrangements at Bedford magistrates court is not the first step to closing the Shire hall in Bedford and is not a cost-cutting exercise. It is aimed at revising the listing arrangements for criminal and family work to improve efficiency in listing and timeliness, making the best use of court time and other resources and providing speedy justice for victims and witnesses. There is a commitment to ensuring that witnesses and victims have appropriate facilities and security when giving their evidence, including the availability of a video link.

The inconvenience of longer travel times for some will be outweighed by the expected improvements in court productivity, timeliness and the use of technology. We must also acknowledge that for people today, the concept of what is local goes far beyond what was considered local in the past. Local justice is no longer achieved solely by having a court in every town or borough. Indeed, there is no requirement of residence within the local justice area for appointment as a magistrate. Since the creation of the single local justice area, magistrates from across the county have been sitting at both Luton and Bedford without deterioration in the quality of justice, which is delivered through consideration of the evidence presented in open court using sound judgment and social awareness.

I thank my hon. Friend for securing this important debate, and I thank him and my right hon. Friend the Member for North East Bedfordshire for their contributions.

Question put and agreed to.