Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: Ministry of Justice

Oral Answers to Questions

Neil Coyle Excerpts
Tuesday 8th September 2015

(8 years, 8 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Dominic Raab Portrait The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Mr Dominic Raab)
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My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I agree with him wholeheartedly. I know that he understands from his work at the Bar, which ranges from social housing to criminal law, the importance of getting the detail right. We look forward to hearing his contribution as the consultation and proposed legislation goes forward.

Neil Coyle Portrait Neil Coyle (Bermondsey and Old Southwark) (Lab)
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T9. Lambeth county court serves my constituency. Will the Minister clarify whether the court met the Department’s definition of underused or surplus, if 50% of its available hearing time went unused? What assessment has the Department made of the impact of its potential closure on my constituents?

Shailesh Vara Portrait Mr Vara
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No firm decisions have been made at the moment. The consultation document has individual papers as far as each individual court is concerned. They are quite comprehensive. If the hon. Gentleman has issues and concerns, I am happy for him to write to me and I am happy to correspond with him while the consultation is taking place.