To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list the average volume of work undertaken by county courts in each year since 1980. [30184]

The information for 1987 to 1997 is set out below. County courts vary considerably in size but the average figures have been calculated by taking the county court workload as a whole and dividing it by the number of county courts open in that year. Figures prior to 1987 will take a little longer to prepare. I will write to my hon. Friend as soon as they are available.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will undertake a feasibility study into extending the Shrewsbury Crown and Magistrate's courts to include provision for the County Court. [30182]

We have already looked at the possibility of housing the county court in these two buildings. It is very unlikely that the magistrates' court would have future capacity to accommodate the county court. The Crown Court is located in a building leased from Shropshire County Council. Discussions about the county court are continuing with the council, which has not yet been able to offer any suitable space.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list the factors which are taken into account in consideration of the proposed closure of a county court by the Court Service. [30183]

The criteria, as set out in the Department Accommodation Plan, are:

• The court's workload;
• The condition of the existing accommodation and the availability of facilities;
• The frequency of judicial visits and waiting times for hearings;
• The capacity of alternative court(s) to cater for additional workload;
• The facilities provided by the alternative court; and
• The distances involved for court users travelling to an alternative court, and public transport consideration.