Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the impact of rural court closures on crime and policing.

Impact assessments are conducted and published alongside all court closure proposals. These are then updated and considered to take into account any additional potential impacts identified through the public consultation process. These assessments include careful consideration of journey times to alternative courts, the challenges of rural access and the needs of vulnerable users.

Consultations on proposed court closures invited the views of a wide range of stakeholders, including local residents and those directly involved in delivering justice, such as police forces and professional court users. All views were carefully considered before final decisions were made.

The decision to close any court is not taken lightly; it only happens following full public consultation and only where sufficient capacity existed in other nearby courts to accommodate the work of the closing courts. Courts that have closed were either underused, dilapidated or too close to one another.