The closures improve the system, the government says
Wales lost 22 of its magistrates’ courts between 2010 and 2018.
The figure, which was confirmed by the government to the Law Society Gazette, is a cut of 61% from 2010, when the country had 36 magistrates’ courts operating.
Richard Sanderson Keen, Baron Keen of Elie QC PC, confirmed the steep cuts in an answer to a written parliamentary question from Stephen Barry Jones, Baron Jones KBE PC.
The courts, which were closed after public consultation, were only shuttered if the Lord Chancellor “was satisfied that effective access to justice could be maintained, Keen said.
“We have closed poor quality, smaller and less efficient courts allowing for resources to be concentrated into a smaller number of better quality and more flexible buildings,” he said.
According to the Law Society Gazette, the closures include magistrates’ courts in Aberdare, Abertillery, Barry, Cardigan, Chepstow, Denbigh, Flint, Llangefni, Pwllheli, Neath, Caerphilly, Brecon and Bridgend law courts, Dolgellau Crown and Magistrates' Court, Holyhead and Prestatyn.
