(The Lord Chancellor and
Secretary of State for Justice (David Gauke)): I am
today announcing the outcome of five separate consultations
published on 18 January 2018 relating to the future of eight
courts within HM Courts & Tribunals estate [HCWS412].
More than 700 responses to these consultations were received and
each was considered carefully against the overarching principles
governing estates reform as set out in the 2015 consultation
document, Proposals on the provision of court and tribunal estate
in England and Wales. These principles are arranged in three
themes: ensuring access to justice; delivering value for money;
and enabling efficiency in the longer term.
As a result, I have decided that the following courts should
close,
• Banbury Magistrates’ and County Court and Maidenhead
Magistrates’ Court,
• Chorley Magistrates’ Court and Fleetwood Magistrates’
Court,
• Northallerton Magistrates’ Court, and
• Wandsworth County Court, and Blackfriars Crown Court.
I have concluded that the proposal to close Cambridge
Magistrates’ Court should be withdrawn. This proposal received
the largest number of responses to the consultation and the
decision to consult was a finely balanced one, not least because
this is a court in a strategic centre serving a large surrounding
area. There is excess court capacity in the area but, following
new information regarding the likely proceeds of disposal and
consideration of the cost of re-provision, I have concluded the
value-for-money case for closure has not been made. HMCTS will
continue to explore further ways to manage under-utilisation of
existing buildings in the region and across the country as part
of its wider estates strategy.
In January, we also published for consultation, Fit for the
Future: Transforming the Court and Tribunal Estate, setting out
our proposed approach to the future management of the HMCTS
estate in the context of the wider modernisation programme. We
have received many detailed responses to these proposals and
these are still under consideration.
A response to this consultation will be published in due course.
But, given the local interest in the eight courts and the need
for certainty for those who use them, I felt it would not be
right to delay our response to these proposals until we were
ready to respond to the strategy consultation.
All savings and money raised through disposals as a result of
these closures will be in invested to support the HMCTS reform
programme backed by both the Government and the senior judiciary.
This programme will help to provide a more accessible and
efficient justice for all those who use it.
