Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many courts in England and Wales his Department plans to close in the next five years.

There are currently no plans to close any courts or tribunals beyond those already announced.

Recovering from the impacts of Covid-19 and keeping our courts and tribunals safe and open is our priority. Measures have been put in place so that court and tribunal rooms are Covid secure and cases have moved to virtual hearings where possible. We have opened Nightingale Courts providing more than 40 additional courtrooms and we are on track to provide a total of 60 courtrooms across the estate by the end of March.