MORE offenders will be brought to court in the south west and there will be better facilities for witnesses under a new overhaul of Her Majesty's Courts Service (HMCS).
Under the scheme all 650 crown, county and magistrates courts in England and Wales now come under one administrative roof.
It has been introduced to create a more efficient service.
For the south west a new HMCS regional director, Peter Risk has been appointed.
He will oversee the whole of the region, which includes 15 crown courts, 56 magistrates and 26 county courts including Swindon's courts.
The Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer and Constitutional Affairs Secretary, said: "A single national agency is more flexible in the way services are provided.
"For instance, in some rural areas it is possible to maintain local courts through sharing buildings where it is currently too expensive to maintain separate buildings for different types of courts."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article