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| Ninety one 'surplus' courts face closure | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The government is consulting on plans to close 91 courts and tribunals in England and Wales. | |
| The aim is to reduce what Justice Secretary Michael Gove has identified as "surplus capacity". | |
| Courts under threat include 57 magistrates' courts, 19 county courts, two crown courts, four tribunal hearing centres and nine combined courts. | |
| Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service operates 460 courts and tribunal hearing centres. | |
| In a written statement, the parliamentary under-secretary of state for courts and legal aid, Shailesh Vara, said the service's estate was "underused". | |
| "Last year over a third of all courts and tribunals were empty for more than 50% of their available hearing time," he said. |