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| Closures of courts and tribunals in England and Wales announced | Closures of courts and tribunals in England and Wales announced |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Nearly a fifth of all courts and tribunals in England and Wales are to close, the government has announced. | Nearly a fifth of all courts and tribunals in England and Wales are to close, the government has announced. |
| Eighty-six of 460 courts and tribunal hearing centres will shut as part of "modernisation" plans, HM Courts and Tribunal Service confirmed. | Eighty-six of 460 courts and tribunal hearing centres will shut as part of "modernisation" plans, HM Courts and Tribunal Service confirmed. |
| The reforms aim to reduce the £500m annual cost of the courts estate. | The reforms aim to reduce the £500m annual cost of the courts estate. |
| Ministers said 48% of court buildings were empty at least half of the time last year, but the Law Society warns closures could limit access to justice. | |
| In a written statement, Justice Minister Shailesh Vara said the closures were necessary because many court buildings were "expensive to maintain yet unsuitable for modern technology". | In a written statement, Justice Minister Shailesh Vara said the closures were necessary because many court buildings were "expensive to maintain yet unsuitable for modern technology". |
| "Court closures are difficult decisions; local communities have strong allegiances to their local courts and I understand their concerns," he said. | "Court closures are difficult decisions; local communities have strong allegiances to their local courts and I understand their concerns," he said. |
| "But changes to the estate are vital if we are to modernise a system which everybody accepts is unwieldy, inefficient, slow, expensive to maintain and unduly bureaucratic." | "But changes to the estate are vital if we are to modernise a system which everybody accepts is unwieldy, inefficient, slow, expensive to maintain and unduly bureaucratic." |
| 'Expensive journeys' | |
| In total, 86 of the 91 courts and tribunal hearing centres that had been under consultation for closure will shut, the minister confirmed. | |
| On average, the 86 courts due to be closed were only being used for just over a third of their available hearing time - equivalent to fewer than two days a week, he said. | |
| More than 97% of citizens would still be able to reach their required court "by car within an hour" after the closures, he added. | |
| The Law Society, which represents solicitors, had opposed the majority of closures. | |
| It had argued that many people using public transport faced long and expensive journeys, giving an example of a return journey from one Aylesbury court which had been due to close to the proposed alternative Milton Keynes, which cost £71 and was a five-hour round trip. |