MP's time and motion study on impact of Dales court closures

The Ministry of Justice is consulting over plans to close six magistrates' courts and six county courts in Yorkshire as part of a national reform of the courts service.

Those under threat include Skipton Magistrates' Court and Skipton County Court in the largely rural constituency of Skipton and Ripon Tory MP Julian Smith.

To highlight the potential impact of the changes, Mr Smith travelled from Burton in Lonsdale to the courts in Harrogate.

He caught a 7.10am bus from Burton in Lonsdale to meet the 7.39am Northern Rail service at Bentham train station, and changed in Leeds for a train to Harrogate.

Arriving there at 10.03am, it took him a further 12 minutes on foot to reach the court – 15 minutes after the 10am deadline when most victims and witnesses are required to attend magistrates' courts.

As well as the inconvenience, Mr Smith said he was "quite shocked" at the 25.90 price of the rail ticket which, added to the bus fare, put the cost of journey at nearly 30. He said: "The consultation document only considers the time to get from Skipton to Harrogate, not the additional time from towns and villages throughout the Dales like Bentham."

Mr Smith said as well as the cost implications, he feared the distance might harm the administration of justice, by discouraging witnesses to attend court and members of the community serving as magistrates.

Other courts under threat include magistrates' courts at Batley and Dewsbury, Goole, Keighley, Pontefract and Selby; and county courts at Barnsley, Dewsbury, Goole, Keighley and Pontefract.