Courts: Closures

(asked on 5th May 2020) - View Source

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the report entitled Transforming courts and tribunals – a progress update, published by the National Audit Office on 6 September 2019, HC2638, if he will review the proposed closure of 77 more courts by 2025/26.


Answered by
Chris Philp Portrait
Chris Philp
Minister of State (Home Office)
This question was answered on 11th May 2020

HM Courts & Tribunals Service keeps its operational estate under review against our three core estates principles of ensuring access to justice for all, delivering value for money and enabling efficiency in the longer term.

The reference in the National Audit Office report to 77 further courts closing by 2025/26 relates to a forecast which was current at the time of their report, and based on analysis of the projected reduction in capacity requirement generated by the Reform Programme. Due to Covid-19 there are no current active consultations on the closure of further courts. Any future proposals for changes to the court and tribunal estate will be announced by the Lord Chancellor and will be consulted on where appropriate, keeping in mind at all times the need to maintain access to Justice.

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