Attack on 'Centralisation' of Magistrates Courts

12.00.00am GMT Wed 8th Jan 2003

Richmond Magistrates Court will effectively lose all its local independence, and there will be an end to public consultation on court closures and improvements, under new sweeping powers for a central, national courts system.

Under new proposals by the Lord Chancellor (now in parliament; the Courts Bill), courts will operate a system of bulk processing of cases so that - for example - Richmond could deal with all the TV licence cases in Britain.

Local knowledge and experience will be jettisoned and the local bench fears that magistrates will resign in droves.

MP Vincent Cable has taken up the issue on behalf of local magistrates and has registered strong opposition to the proposals: "fortunately, most residents are not regular customers of the local magistrates court."

"But those who work with the courts value the local knowledge and experience of those on the bench and the Justice's Clerk."

"There is a superficial attraction in having a unified, standardised system of justice. But this government's obsession with centralising everything under Whitehall control is ultimately demoralising for those in public service and results in bad service for customers".