Asked by: Lord Lisvane (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the maximum distance a defendant, solicitor or member of administrative staff might need to travel within the West Mercia Police area to attend remand cases following the relocation of all such cases to Kidderminster Magistrates Court.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
The travel times and average mileage were thoroughly researched and taken into account when considering the centralisation of the remand courts in Kidderminster. The detail is provided in the consultation document (page 9) and the response document.
The distance and journey time of a prisoner travelling to attend the remand court from a police station in West Mercia is included in the consultation document. Travel from each of the police stations show a maximum journey time of 58.8 minutes each way (using a route planner).
In addition to the above, prisoners can be transported from anywhere in England or Wales if arrested on a warrant.
HMCTS is unable to provide a maximum travel time for solicitors since it will depend upon where they reside or are based.
There are 6 HMCTS ushers travelling to Kidderminster once or twice per week by train which is a 30-minute train journey.
Asked by: Lord Lisvane (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what account they took of (1) time, (2) travel, and (3) cost implications for defendants, solicitors and administrative staff when deciding to relocate all remand cases from the West Mercia Police area to Kidderminster.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
The consultation for the proposed implementation of the centralised remand court began on 28th June 2017 and ended on 23rd August 2017.
A total of 62 responses were received from various bodies including defence solicitors, Magistrates, partner agencies and two Members of Parliament.
Prior to the consultation being published; the proposal to centralise the remand court was discussed at Local Criminal Justice Boards (LCJBs) which are attended by all local partner agencies.
Following the public consultation that ran between June and August 2017, the local Judicial Business Group (JBG) decided to centralise hearings for all those defendants held in custody by the police for new offences or arrested on warrant for failing to appear at court.
The centralisation of these custody case hearings was principally to allow the more flexible listing of cases, to improve efficiency for victims and witnesses and to provide earlier trial dates. Trial performance information demonstrated that, prior to the new arrangements, victims and witnesses in West Mercia faced significant delays in coming to trial
As a result of the listing changes introduced, HMCTS can now provide earlier trial dates serving the needs of victims and witnesses better.
Asked by: Lord Lisvane (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consultation they undertook before deciding to relocate all remand cases from the West Mercia Police area to Kidderminster.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
The method of travel and travel times and average mileage were thoroughly researched and taken into account when considering the centralisation of the remand courts in Kidderminster. The detail is provided in the consultation document (page 9) and is also discussed in the response document.
HMCTS also provided detail of the average each way journey distance for prisoners in miles, along with the time in minutes and the number of prisoners who would be required to travel to that venue from police stations.
Asked by: Lord Lisvane (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the maximum acceptable (1) distance, and (2) travel time, for witnesses and parties to get to their nearest (a) Magistrates' Court, (b) County Court, and (c) Crown Court.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
On 18 January 2018, HM Courts & Tribunals Service published a consultation document, Fit for the future: transforming the Court and Tribunal Estate (https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/fit-for-the-future-transforming-the-court-and-tribunal-estate) inviting views on the proposed future strategy and approach to court and tribunal estate reform in England and Wales. The consultation contains the proposal that nearly all users should be able to attend a hearing on time and return within in a day, by public transport if necessary. The document also includes a national assessment of journey times for court users travelling to Magistrates’, County and Crown courts. The consultation is open until 29 March 2018.
Ongoing investment in the transformation and modernisation of our courts and tribunals will enable the use of technology, such as video links and online services. These will improve access to justice by reducing the need to attend court in person.