Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the letter to the hon. Member for Houghton and Sunderland South and the hon. Member for Sunderland Central from the former Minister of State for Courts and Justice of 11 December 2017, to what extent HM Courts and Tribunals Service consulted with (a) local residents, (b) the judiciary and (c) Northumbria Police before approving proposals to integrate Sunderland County Court into the Sunderland Magistrates’ Court building.

The proposal to integrate Sunderland County Court into the Sunderland Magistrates’ Court building was not subject to public consultation since it did not require the transfer of work outside of the local area.

HM Courts & Tribunals Service engaged with the judiciary at a very early stage in the process and before plans were approved. Members of the local judiciary are members of the Local Implementation Team which will oversee the integration.

The Police do not use the County Court building and were therefore not involved in discussions prior to the plans being approved. They will be notified about the integration in writing along with other magistrates’ courts stakeholders in February 2018.