MoJ extends use of 20 “Nightingale” courtrooms for another year
A total of 20 so-called “Nightingale” courtrooms, across nine venues, will remain open in 2024 to allow more cases to be heard, the Ministry of Justice has announced.
The MoJ said the temporary courtrooms would continue to be used by judges to hear cases ranging from shoplifting to family proceedings and small claims hearings. The majority of the courtrooms will be open until March 2025.
Nightingale courts were first introduced in the pandemic to temporarily provide additional space for hearings.
The MoJ said the locations chosen to remain open in England and Wales had been identified “where they can help reduce the number of local outstanding cases, support maintenance projects by hearing cases when nearby locations are temporarily closed or to make full use of judicial capacity in court areas where there are more judges available”.
The locations are:
- Barbican, London
- Chichester
- Cirencester
- Croydon
- Fleetwood, Blackpool
- Grand Connaught Rooms, London
- Maple House, Birmingham
- Swansea
- Telford
Justice Minister, Mike Freer, said: “People who break the law must face justice and ensuring these 20 extra courtrooms remain open in 2024 will do just that.
“Crown Courts are already dealing with the highest number of cases than at any point since 2019. We want to keep making progress and deliver swifter access to justice.”
Temporary courts in Maidstone and Wolverhampton will close at the end of March, the MoJ confirmed, “because there is no longer a need for these venues”.
