Conclusion 13

Organisations representing users of the justice system, in both oral evidence and written submissions, were critical of court closures and their impact on access to justice. The Law Society challenged the process for selecting courts for closure, saying that the underlying rationale is not always clear. The Law Society, Transform Justice and the Law Centres Network explained that court closures have made it more difficult for people to access courts, especially for those in rural communities, those on low income and those with a disability. The Law Society noted a “massive increase in the proportion of the population who are at least 20 miles from the local court.” It said some people are making the decision not to travel to court, due to convenience, but rather waiting for police to pick them up and take them.28 The Law Society and the Equality and Human Rights Commission both provided practical examples of the impact of closures on people with disability. The Equality and Human Rights Commission explained that “one of the alternative sites to Northallerton Magistrates’ Court, which was announced for closure in July 2018, can only deal with non-mobile users by prior arrangement”, while the Law Society, similarly, said that in Yorkshire, HMCTS has to take Doncaster Crown Court “out of mothballs if a defendant has disabilities”.29