| Previous Section | Back to Table of Contents | Lords Hansard Home Page |
Lord Marlesford asked Her Majesty's Government:
- When government guidance was last issued to Magistrates' Courts Committees on the criteria they should use in determining the number and location of magistrates' courts in their areas; and whether they will put a copy of such guidance in the Library of the House. [HL568]
Lord Bach: The Government does not issue such guidance.
The only guidance of this kind is issued by the Central Council of Magistrates' Courts Committees. Last month, the Central Council published its revised edition of the 'Good Practice Guide on Courthouse Closure', which both Ministers and Her Majesty's Magistrates' Courts Service Inspectorate endorse.
Copies of this guidance have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Lord Marlesford asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Who is entitled to appeal to the Lord Chancellor against the closure of magistrates' courts; and whether they will list all such appeals made since the coming into force of the Justices of the Peace Act 1997 indicating the result of the appeal in each case. [HL569]
Lord Bach: Under Section 56(3) of the Justices of the Peace Act 1997, any paying authority (local authority that contributes financially) that is aggrieved by the determination of a Magistrates' Courts Committee to close a courthouse has the right to appeal to the Lord Chancellor within one month of receipt of written notification of the determination.
A list of appeals made since June 1997 when the Justices of the Peace Act 1997 came into force, is set out in the table.
| Name MCC | Name of Courthouse | Decision Made | Date of Decision |
| Staffordshire | Kidsgrove, Biddulph & Cheadle | Dismissed | July 1997 |
| North Wales | Bleanau Ffestiniog and Llangollen | Dismissed | July 1997 |
| West Glamorgan | Pontedawe | Dismissed | October 1997 |
| Hereford & Worcester | Evesham, Bromsgrove, Ledbury | Dismissed; Evesham retained | October 1997 |
| Gwent | Bargoed, Chepstow, Monmouth, Pontlottyn, Pontypool | Dismissed; Chepstow retained | December 1997 |
| North Yorkshire | Malton (Norton), Stokesley | Dismissed | December 1997 |
| Hertfordshire | Hitchin, Hatfield, Bishop's Stortford | Dismissed | March 1998 |
| Essex | Braintree, Clacton, Saffron Walden | Dismissed | June 1998 |
| North Yorkshire | Ripon | Dismissed | June 1998 |
| North Wales | Corwen | Dismissed | August 1998 |
| Suffolk | Felixstowe, Stowmarket, Haverhill, Saxmundham, Newmarket | Dismissed | August 1998 |
| Leeds | Morley, Pudsey, Wetherby | Dismissed; Wetherby retained | October 1998 |
| Derbyshire | Ashbourne, Bakewell, Matlock, Swadlincote & New court at Chesterfield (7 courtrooms) New court at Derby (11 courtrooms) | Dismissed | November 1998 |
| Berkshire & Oxfordshire | Abingdon, Henley, Windsor | Dismissed | December 1998 |
| Cambridgeshire | March | Dismissed | December 1998 |
| North Wales | Holyhead, Mold, Prestatyn (Offices) | Dismissed | February 1999 |
| Devon & Cornwall (shadow) | location of court office: Derriford, Devon | Allowed | February 1999 |
| Bedfordshire | Ampthill; Biggleswade; Dunstable, Leighton Buzzard | Dismissed | April 1999 |
| Gloucestershire | Stow-on-the-Wold | Dismissed | May 1999 |
| West Riding | Keighley | Dismissed | February 2000 |
| Cumbria | Appleby, Keswick, Wigton, Windermere | Dismissed | 26.2.00 |
| Staffordshire | Lichfield, Wombourne (Seisdon) | Dismissed Allowed | 3.4.00 |
| Kent | Gravesend | Dismissed | 8.05.00 |
| Wiltshire | Wootton Bassett | Dismissed | 04.07.00 |
| North & West Greater Mancheser | Middleton, Leigh | Dismissed | 20.12.00 |
| Cheshire | Patten Hall | Withdrawn |
Munchausen's Syndrome by Proxy: Methods of Identification
The Countess of Mar asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 22 November (WA 84), whether they will name the chairman and external members of the steering group.[HL157]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): In my reply to your previous Question about membership of the group on 22 November 2000 (WA 84), I explained that the external members included representatives from a wide range of professional bodies.
The group is chaired by Mr Bruce Clark, a senior official from the Department of Health. The individual external members of the group, together
with the professional associations on whose behalf they are participating, include:
- Dr G Adshead--Royal College of Psychiatry
- Ms I Charles-Edwards--English National Board of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting
- Mr J Fox--Association of Chief Police Officers
- Ms S Hensman--Royal College of Nursing
- Ms D Kinnair--Community Practitioner and Health Visitors Association
- Ms S Smallman--United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting
- Dr D Sowden--Royal College of General Practitioners
- Mr A Webb--Association of Directors of Social Services
Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What they understand to be the religious and political affiliations of the current members of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission.[HL254]
The Minister of State, Cabinet Office (Lord Falconer of Thoroton): It is not government practice to disclose personal details of individuals.
| Back to Table of Contents | Lords Hansard Home Page |