Plaid Cymru’s Leanne Wood and Chris Franks say a report from the Lord Chief Justice has endorsed their previous criticisms of the Westminster coalition’s plans to axe Welsh courts.
Of the 15 courts earmarked for closure in Wales by the Government, senior presiding judge, Lord Judge, said five should remain open and a further six should be reviewed. Aberdare County and Magistrates’ Court is among the five he said should be spared from closure.
Lord Judge also recommends that proposals to close Llwynypia and Barry courts should be reviewed. In the case of Barry magistrates’ court, he said:
“It is not clear whether Cardiff would cope with the additional workload if there were to be any modest change in crime levels. A considerable amount of work (costing £1.9million as I understand it) has been undertaken in recent years to provide a court with good facilities and it is difficult to see how the high maintenance backlog figures have been calculated.
“Local magistrates vigorously oppose closure and have real concerns about the accuracy of the data contained within the HMCS consultation paper.
“There appears to be a reasonable case for retention given the work which has been undertaken and the large population served by the court.”
Ms Wood and Mr Franks, who both represent the South Wales Central region, said the views of the senior presiding judge expose the flaws in the proposals of the Con/Dem coalition.
“Right from the start, we said Ken Clarke’s plans were ill-conceived and gave little or no consideration to the communities affected,” said Ms Wood.
“This knock-back from the senior presiding judge must be a source of major embarrassment to the Con/Dems as it shows the folly and haste of their austerity agenda.”
She added: “The closures will only see travelling expenses spiralling and higher costs are bound to be incurred by delays in hearing cases as a result of these changes.
“It will also have a knock-on effect on local businesses that cater for court staff and the people that are called to be there, whether as defendant or witness.
“These closures will save a mere £40 million – much more risks being lost by trying to administer justice on the cheap.”
Mr Franks said: “This report backs up what Plaid Cymru said in the consultation on the court closures. The Ministry of Justice cannot ignore the increasing evidence that to close the court at Barry would be ill-judged and mistaken.
“I also believe that there is no economic or administrative case for the cuts suggested to the courts in Aberdare, Llwynypia and Barry. Plaid believes that these courthouses should remain open fully staffed and providing a much needed facility for local justice.”
