A unified system of courts administration will be launched this week with the merger of the Court Service and the 42 independent Magistrates' Courts Committees into a new executive government agency.
Her Majesty's Courts Service (HMCS) will bring all courts in England and Wales, except the House of Lords, under one administrative roof.
The 42 local areas matching local criminal justice areas will be grouped into seven regions to improve resource management: London, Midlands, north-east and Yorkshire, north-west, south-east, south-west, and Wales and Cheshire.
The Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer, said: 'HMCS will make court work more transparent, remove unnecessary duplication and ensure greater uniformity of approach.'
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