Greater Manchester’s interim mayor says he can’t promise to reverse decisions about planned court closures across the region in light of new devolved criminal justice powers - but says he will fight to minimise their impact.
Tony Lloyd - also police and crime commissioner - said a new deal with the government to hand the region’s combined authority more powers over courts, prisons, rehabilitation and probation means decisions affecting Greater Manchester will no longer be made ‘in isolation’ in Whitehall.
Mr Lloyd responded to a letter from Oldham and Royton MP Jim McMahon , who called upon him to use the new deal to halt the proposed closure of some magistrates and county courts across the region following a Ministry of Justice (MoJ) review.
Bury, Oldham, Trafford, Altrincham, Bolton and Tameside magistrates’ courts are among the buildings due to shut.
Mr McMahon told Mr Lloyd: “Tony, with this new power, use it to make a difference.”
Mr Lloyd welcomed Mr McMahon’s ‘intervention’, highlighting the need for local leaders to put more pressure on the MoJ and the government to get a better deal for the region.
But he said the new devolved powers will not be a silver bullet, admitting that overturning decisions made before the move could prove difficult.
Mr Lloyd added: “I opposed the court closure programme because I recognised it is bad for Oldham and the other affected parts of Greater Manchester, and that’s why I let local authority leaders, MPs and councillors know what was taking place.
“What I can’t promise is to undo decisions which were made long before the justice devolution process began, but this does highlight the very real need for devolution itself. Decisions such as those to close courts affect our towns and cities, and they should not be made remotely in Whitehall.
“The government has agreed that in future such major decisions will have to involve Greater Manchester and cannot be taken in isolation. This is a commitment other areas of the country simply do not have.
“What I can say to Jim, and others who share our concerns, is that I have led a process whereby the government, court service and Oldham council have been brought together to assess the impact of these decisions, and see how they can be minimised.
“Those negotiations are continuing.”
Mr Lloyd said the move presented a ‘new dawn for the justice system in Greater Manchester’.
Horrific delays and brutal cuts have left the region’s criminal justice system at breaking point, a damning report revealed in June.
