– in the Scottish Parliament at on 1 March 2017.
Finlay Carson
Conservative
4. To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the time taken to conclude cases in the courts. (S5O-00713)
Annabelle Ewing
Scottish National Party
As I stated in my earlier response to Adam Tomkins, the Scottish Government recognises that reporting and prosecution of certain categories of crime have increased. Criminal investigations have also become more complex, and that is reflected in the number of court cases proceeding to evidence-led trials: over the last five years, there has been a 38 per cent increase in evidence-led trials.
However, even allowing for that, the evidence shows an improving picture. As at January 2017, 95 per cent of sheriff courts were offering trials within the optimum time of 16 weeks, compared with only 50 per cent in April 2014. With the help of additional funding from the Scottish Government, the percentage of cases fully disposed within 20 weeks has increased from 58 per cent in 2014-15 to 67 per cent in 2016-17.
It is quite clear that improvement has been made, but there is always more that can be done.
Finlay Carson
Conservative
Pressure on Scotland’s courts is not a new issue. In 2015, Audit Scotland published a report highlighting the difficulties that they face, and the situation seems only to be getting worse. That is after the Scottish Government ignored warnings from Opposition parties and slashed the number of courts across the country, including closing Kirkcudbright sheriff court in my Constituency.
Has the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service successfully implemented Audit Scotland’s recommendations to improve Scotland’s court system.
Annabelle Ewing
Scottish National Party
If Finlay Carson looks back at the
Official Report of today’s Question Time, he will see the various statistics that I have referred to that come from Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service data, which it collects and reviews monthly. He will see the improvements that have been made.
The member mentioned Kirkcudbright sheriff court. It was closed some three years ago. It is important to remember that the court was, at that time, dealing with an average of two summary criminal trials per month. Dumfries is now the receiving court, and there has been no impact on Dumfries sheriff court following the transfer of that business.
Clare Haughey
Scottish National Party
I refer members to my register of interests; I am a registered mental health nurse.
I am very interested in the time that it takes to conclude cases in court. I have a particular interest in drug courts. Will the Minister advise on what the position is?
Annabelle Ewing
Scottish National Party
We have seen in Glasgow a very successful dedicated drug court. Across Scotland, we have been setting up problem-solving courts in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and, recently, in Forfar, to look at the bigger picture. Those courts look at the particular position of the individual, which varies from case to case. In those courts, the outcome for the individual is the important key determinant, rather than the actual time that is taken for proceedings at court.
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