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Crown Court: Closures

Asked by Gareth SnellLabour (Co-op)Ministry of JusticeTabled Answered 28 March 2025UIN 40503

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many Crown Courts were (a) partially and (b) fully closed between 1 May 2010 and 1 July 2024, broken down by region.

Answered by Sarah Sackman

The table below shows the number of Crown Courts that were permanently closed between 1 May 2010 and 1 July 2024, broken down by region. The figures do not include integrations, where workload remained in the local area by transferring to a building in close proximity, or courts that are temporarily closed.

Region

Crown Courts closed

London

1

Midlands

0

North East

0

North West

1

South East

2

South West

2

Wales

2

There are multiple situations that can require a court to be closed to the public for a temporary period of time. Reasons include, but are not limited to, severe weather disruption, building issues and disrepair, loss of utilities, and in response to security concerns.

HMCTS does not hold central data covering all temporary closures.

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