Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Magistrate's courts
Are magistrate's courts going the way of Post Offices?
Changes in the law mean that these courts no longer fulfill some functions, e.g. licensing pubs and clubs (transferred to the council It will no longer be the responsibility of Magistrates’ courts to g... ) So they are less busy, so they can be closed down.
Haringey is one of those on the list for closure.
I don't know if this is important - could someone please tell me.
Strikes me the closures are probably a bad thing. (Haringey's spokesperson seems to think so)
because
1) the court process is massively inefficient anyway - tha money saved in not running a court would be more than offset by extra police and official overtime and expenses travelling to a different venue
2) the court process is massively inefficient anyway - one side or the other doesn't turn up or is late or doesn't have hte right papers - so cases will be scheduled repeatedly
3) Haringey gets to determine policy - e.g papers of enormous length setting out the twin goals of mother hood... are put out out to consultation and the actual goals of the policy disappear in a welter of bureaucratic doublespeak and internal policy cross reference
4) When the few courts that remain can't cope with the volume even more functions will be removed with an even greater dilution of purpose.
I used to live in Market Harborough and I can see that locals there believe the magistrate's court is important http://liberalengland.blogspot.com/2010/07/market-harborough-magist... http://www.gopetition.co.uk/petitions/save-market-harborough-magist... http://marketharboroughlibdems.org.uk/news/000053/lib_dems_in_call_...
Changes in the law mean that these courts no longer fulfill some functions, e.g. licensing pubs and clubs (transferred to the council It will no longer be the responsibility of Magistrates’ courts to g... ) So they are less busy, so they can be closed down.
Haringey is one of those on the list for closure.
I don't know if this is important - could someone please tell me.
Strikes me the closures are probably a bad thing. (Haringey's spokesperson seems to think so)
because
1) the court process is massively inefficient anyway - tha money saved in not running a court would be more than offset by extra police and official overtime and expenses travelling to a different venue
2) the court process is massively inefficient anyway - one side or the other doesn't turn up or is late or doesn't have hte right papers - so cases will be scheduled repeatedly
3) Haringey gets to determine policy - e.g papers of enormous length setting out the twin goals of mother hood... are put out out to consultation and the actual goals of the policy disappear in a welter of bureaucratic doublespeak and internal policy cross reference
4) When the few courts that remain can't cope with the volume even more functions will be removed with an even greater dilution of purpose.
I used to live in Market Harborough and I can see that locals there believe the magistrate's court is important http://liberalengland.blogspot.com/2010/07/market-harborough-magist... http://www.gopetition.co.uk/petitions/save-market-harborough-magist... http://marketharboroughlibdems.org.uk/news/000053/lib_dems_in_call_...
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
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The licensing functions, Omotn, were transferred to local councils five years ago. Thanks for your link, which shows that the Council's webpage is partly out-of-date. I've requested that it's updated.
Are the Coalition's proposals about efficiencies and better services? Or cuts?
I doubt whether there's a magistrates court anywhere which can't be run more efficiently. And save some money. I'd even speculate that magistrates and court staff might have some helpful suggestions. And, possibly, rationalisation of buildings might be one of them. On the other hand, closing down buildings isn't always the straightforward cost-cutting measure it seems.
The links you give illustrate an underlying tension. There's the stated wish to give more decision-making power to local people. Against what seems an arbitrary list of cuts announced at the centre. To paraphrase Heather Brooke: Other people's budgets and services are remarkably easy to cut.
I'm unsure of your Post Offices parallel. There are still plenty of 'customers' for our Magistrates Courts. I also think our Post Offices would be a lot better used with some investment and 'customer care'. The betting shops have understood this only too well.
I see the Haringey Independent thinks Cllr Bernice Vanier is "Haringey Council's Crime Boss". Plainly, reports of the undeath of local newspapers have not been at all exaggerated.
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