Law Society responds to court closure consultation

23 June 2010

Responding to the Government’s proposals to cut the number of courts in England & Wales Law Society chief executive Desmond Hudson says:

"The Government's intentions announced yesterday in relation to the deficit reduction mean that the Ministry of Justice will have to find significant savings. The Law Society recognises the importance of running the court service as efficiently as possible and that there should be regular reviews as to whether the physical distribution of Courts should be changed and whether procedures can be made more efficient with the help of new, accessible and affordable technology. The focus of the announcement appears to be a sensible step.

“In the consultation process we hope the Lord Chancellor will not lose sight of the fact that courts are important features of local life and that people need to have proper access to the courts. We will play our part in the Consultation by studying the proposals carefully, consulting our members and sharing our thoughts about any individual areas where acute problems emerge. "