LEIGH'S top JP says the proposal to close the area's Magistrates' Court simply doesn't add up.

Mr Dennis Dunn, who has sent a copy of The Journal announcing a consultation period to Home Office Minister Paul Boateng, says he gives the Magistrates' Courts Committee "none out of 10 for their arithmetic or their reasoning".

"They say that closing the court will save £37,000 per year, but the costs to other agencies of going to Wigan will increase by more than this amount.

"The MCC must not be aware of Mr Boateng's recent remarks about the agencies of the Criminal Justice System acting as a system. True saving = £0. It doesn't add up.

"They say that the courts must strive to achieve 1000 hours of use per year. Leigh is top in this area for court utilization and hits this target.

"Leigh Court is in fact one of the few in the whole country that meets this target. What possible sense does it make to close one of the most efficient courts in the country? The MCC should be proud of the achievements of Leigh's 86 magistrates and court staff. It doesn't add up."

Mr Dunn says security worries are a red herring because there is no security problem at Leigh.

"Two of the towns three courts are designated secure facilities, thousands of pounds have been spent in recent years making them secure, and I have never heard anyone express security concerns about Leigh Courts, not the police, not the magistrates, not the solicitors, not the probation service, not the Crown Prosecution Service. It doesn't add up."

He adds that lack of facilities for disabled users is another red herring.

"Leigh Court has good access for disabled users being a modern single storey building.

"A former magistrate, herself disabled, advised on alterations that would bring the building up to standard, and it is. Of course the court does not have a lift, if it did it couldn't go anywhere, we only have a ground floor. It doesn't add up.

"So it looks as if the MCC have not done their sums. None of these points on which they rely seem to add up. They score none out of 10 for arithmetic and reasoning. Now I could recommend some excellent evening classes at Leigh College that might help them."

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