Three-quarters of magistrates courts in England and Wales are inadequately accessible for people with disabilities, according to a report in The Guardian.
The newspaper reports that a lack of ramps plus obstacles including inaccessible toilets and non-functioning hearing loops all feature as failings.
It also quotes a survey carried out by the Magistrates’ Association which assessed the accessibility of 57 buildings – more than a third of magistrates courts – and found a plethora of problems.
Only one building was found to be “good” across all areas assessed, which included magistrate entrances, car parks and public areas.
The survey found that In three out of 10 courts, disabled magistrates were restricted from sitting in certain courtrooms or even entire buildings due to accessibility failings or delays in repairing vital facilities such as lifts.
The Magistrates’ Association said that, by restricting where its members could sit or where trials could take place, the failings adversely affected court capacity and efficiency, and undermined the government’s efforts to improve diversity and inclusion in the magistracy.
Mark Beattie, national chair of the Magistrates’ Association, told The Guardian: “People considering applying to be magistrates are required to undertake pre-application visits to a court. Imagine turning up and not being able to observe a session because you cannot get into the building or a specific courtroom.
“The range of problems disabled magistrates experience on a daily basis is also of great concern. Equal access for all is surely a fundamental tenet of our justice system and yet our research shows that insufficient funds have been spent to deliver this.”
The report found accessibility was poorer in areas accessed by magistrates than in public areas. While one in 10 court buildings did not have an accessible toilet for the public, this rose to one in three in magistrates’ areas.
In almost one fifth of courts surveyed, disabled magistrates had to use the public entrance due to a lack of an accessible judicial entrance. This often necessitated security personnel accompanying them on arrival and exit because of the risk.
A magistrate who is a wheelchair user told the newspaper: “When I have been doing trial courts and we’ve had some unhappy attendees, I feel very vulnerable leaving through the main entrance.”
The report also found signage was missing from about a quarter of public areas, which can adversely affect neurodivergent people or people with learning difficulties, and fewer than half of courts had a working hearing loop.
Recommendations by the association to address the problems include an accessibility audit of all courts, an accessibility guarantee, with a deadline for achieving it, and investment.
