20. Whether he has any further plans to reduce the number of courts in England and Wales. (900383)

Questions are something like buses; none for a while, then two at once.

Very much so, Mr Speaker. I am happy to say that performance is the best it has ever been, against a background of increasing work load. The Office of the Public Guardian is also currently undertaking a review of its supervision function in order to ensure it can continue to safeguard vulnerable adults and deal with work load.

I am obviously concerned about the number of magistrates courts that have been closed since this Government came to power. Rochdale magistrates court has remained empty since the Government decided to close it over two years ago. How much is it costing to keep courts empty, and why do the Government not simply donate Rochdale court to the people of Rochdale for community use?

We are moving to the disposal of assets gradually, but it does take time.