Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) days and (b) hours per week (i) county, (ii) family, (iii) magistrates and (iv) youth courts were open for in 2024.

Court opening times/hours are distinct from court sitting days/hours and are the hours in which the public can access HMCTS buildings. In practice in most ordinary working weeks, courts are open to the public for five days a week for a minimum of eight hours a day (40 hours a week), but each court building operates opening hours that suit the local operating environment. This differs for certain Magistrates Courts which hear remand cases on Saturday mornings (and some bank holidays) and are therefore open longer. We do not collect data on the specific days and hours that courts are open for. Opening hours usually start at some time between 08:30am and 09:30am and run to approximately 5:00pm. Court sitting hours, are normally 10.30am - 4.30pm but the timings of court sittings are a matter for the independent judiciary.

The Lord Chancellor has a statutory duty to ensure there is an effective and efficient system to support the carrying out of the businesses of the courts, and that appropriate services are provided for those courts. Opening hours in all courts are at the discretion of the Lord Chancellor under the Courts Act 2003.