A PROMISE to consider problems faced by rural areas came from government ministers on Monday, ahead of a meeting of Devon and Cornwall magistrates courts committee today (Thursday).

The concession came at the end of a late night Commons debate secured by West Devon and Torridge MP John Burnett, who is fighting to save courts at Tavistock and Okehampton threatened with closure.

Jane Kennedy, minister for the Lord Chancellor's department, told Mr Burnett a full review of the way money was allocated to the magistrates courts committee (MCC) would be carried out.

For the first time 'a sparsity factor to reflect any higher costs of running magistrates courts in spread-out, sparsely populated rural MCC areas,' would be considered.

But Ms Kennedy could not promise special treatment for Devon.

'We must await the outcome of the review,' she said.

Mr Burnett has labelled cost-cutting proposals to scrap West Devon's courts as 'ludicrous'.

After the debate, he said: 'Most of the minister's speech was a repetition of what we knew already. But this promise, at the very end, does mean we have a real chance that our special circumstances will be properly considered.'

Today's meeting of the MCC in Lifton comes at the end of a consultation period, after proposals to axe 12 of Devon and Cornwall's 25 courts was announced in January.