Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many courts with secure docks for holding defendants have been closed in England and Wales since 2012.

We do not hold information on the number of courts in England and Wales with secure docks that have closed since 2012.

The decision to close any court is not taken lightly, it only happens following full public consultation and only where sufficient capacity existed in other nearby courts to accommodate the work of the closing courts, and where suitable facilities, such as secure docks are available. Courts that have closed were either underused, dilapidated or too close to one another.