MUCH has been reported on the decision to close Leigh Magistrates' Court by the powers that be in Westminster, yet a letter to the Daily Telegraph contradicts this statement.

Jane Kennedy (Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, London), writes and I quote: "The Lord Chancellor's Department has no agenda, secret or otherwise, to close rural courthouses. This is not a matter for central government to decide. Such decisions are taken locally. The number, location and future of magistrates courts are matters for local magistrates' courts committees to determine in consultation with local paying authorities."

Well, have our local authorities been talking to a mythical central government department? What are the facts?

Jane Twentyman

Clifton Road

Leigh