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Lord Marlesford asked Her Majesty's Government:
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:
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 |
The Countess of Mar asked Her Majesty's Government:
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:
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
The Minister of State, Cabinet Office (Lord Falconer of Thoroton): It is not government practice to disclose personal details of individuals.
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