Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many Magistrates Courts were (a) partially and (b) fully closed between 1 May 2010 and 1 July 2024, broken down by region.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The table below shows the number of Magistrates’ Courts that were permanently closed between 1 May 2010 and 1 July 2024, broken down by region. The figures do not include integrations, where workload remained in the local area by transferring to a building in close proximity, or courts that are temporarily closed.
Region | Magistrates’ Courts closed |
London | 19 |
Midlands | 30 |
North East | 19 |
North West | 22 |
South East | 32 |
South West | 22 |
Wales | 21 |
There are multiple situations that can require a court to be closed to the public for a temporary period of time. Reasons include, but are not limited to, severe weather disruption, building issues and disrepair, loss of utilities, and in response to security concerns.
HMCTS does not hold central data covering all temporary closures.
Mentions:
1: Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede (Lab - Life peer) The Lord Chancellor has commissioned an independent review of the criminal courts, led by Sir Brian Leveson - Speech Link
2: Lord Marks of Henley-on-Thames (LD - Life peer) sitting days, severely criticised by the Lady Chief Justice, which has led to unplanned courtroom closures - Speech Link
3: Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede (Lab - Life peer) ’ courts from six months to 12 months. - Speech Link
4: Lord Keen of Elie (Con - Life peer) There are courts and judges available, but I am repeatedly advised that there are not suitable defence - Speech Link
Mentions:
1: Tristan Osborne (Lab - Chatham and Aylesford) Courts that are overloaded struggle to maintain their pace. - Speech Link
2: Sojan Joseph (Lab - Ashford) courts in east Kent. - Speech Link
3: Kieran Mullan (Con - Bexhill and Battle) Gradually, more courts were added, but trial times and the number of individual courts available were - Speech Link
Written Evidence Nov. 27 2024
Inquiry: Interpreting and translation services in the courtsFound: House of Lords Public Services Committee (ITS0076) Interpreting and translation services in the courts
Mar. 19 2010
Source Page: Her Majesty's Courts Service business plan 2010 [UPDATED with amended figures]. Incl. annexes. 29 p.Found: HMCS™s work on embedding Criminal Justice Œ Simple, Speedy and Summary in the magistrates™ courts and
Mar. 15 2010
Source Page: Her Majesty's Courts Service business plan 2010. Incl. annexes. 29 p.Found: HMCS™s work on embedding Criminal Justice Œ Simple, Speedy and Summary in the magistrates™ courts and
Written Evidence Mar. 11 2025
Inquiry: Work of the County CourtFound: 1 Written evidence submitted by His Honour Graham White (WCC0087) Established in 1846, County Courts
Written Evidence Mar. 11 2025
Inquiry: Work of the County CourtFound: Established in 1846, County Courts became familiar local centres for the administration of civil and
Feb. 27 2025
Source Page: Standards for children in the justice system: 2023 to 2024 auditFound: has given a richly detailed picture of how all aspects of justice work for children in relation to courts
Mar. 27 2009
Source Page: I.Best value tendering for CDS contracts 2010 : a consultation paper. 94 p. II. Best value tendering for CDS contracts 2010 : annexes to the consultation paper [hard copy]. 135 p.Found: Our proposals recognise the complexities of addressing volume variation risks in magistrates™ courts.