Letter from Westminster By Dr Brian Iddon, MP for Bolton South IN the near future some important decisions will have to be taken that will affect the life of my Bolton SE Constituents.

They are the future of council housing in the Borough, re-organisation of the management structures in the NHS, and the future of Bolton Magistrates' Court. In addition, as the National Patron of the Society of Registration Officers, I am involved in modernisation of the services that record births, marriages, and deaths. My colleague Ruth Kelly MP is responsible for the Registration Service as The Economic Secretary to the Treasury.

It is unthinkable that a town the size of Bolton should not have its own Magistrates' Court. Ours is one of the busiest in Greater Manchester. The Government are very keen to improve access to justice for its citizens, which is one of the strongest arguments for retention of a Court in Bolton. For the citizens of SE Bolton to have to travel to Bury, Manchester, or Trafford Magistrates' Court to seek justice is unacceptable. Defendants, plaintiffs, and witnesses would be required to travel, as well as the lawyers who represent them and friends and relatives.

It is important that Magistrates who live in and understand Bolton dispense justice locally to those who commit crime. If justice is transferred elsewhere, I cannot see Bolton Magistrates travelling to Courts in other towns. My fear is that many will resign and fewer Bolton citizens will put their name down in future to be considered as Magistrates.

One of the controversial issues before Parliament is the right to trial by jury. The Government want to introduce a system similar to that operating in Scotland, where a citizen does not have an automatic right to a jury trial. Many criminals use this right, which exists in England, to delay dispensation of justice; they plead guilty in the higher Court. A Bill to make these changes fell in the last Parliament but is likely to be re-introduced in this one. Assuming that the Bill is enacted, then the amount of work conducted in Magistrates' Courts will increase, Thus, it would be plain daft to reduce their capacity now (across Greater Manchester they are working to only 50 per cent capacity). In any case, other uses could be found for the spare capacity, e.g. tribunal work. Already Trafford Magistrates' Court is conducting Immigration Tribunals.