1. To ask the Scottish Government whether GEOAmey, the prisoner escort service provider, has offered any assurances that it will tackle the reported staffing challenges that currently mean that islanders acting as witnesses have to travel to jury trials on the mainland. (S6O-02934)

We have been supporting the Scottish Prison Service and other partners in delivering an improvement in the GEOAmey contract that has resulted in early positive signs, with a slowdown in staff attrition and improved staff numbers.

Following the pausing of the post-pandemic reintroduction of solemn jury trials to the sheriff courts at Lerwick, Kirkwall, Portree, Stornoway, Lochmaddy and Wick, assurances have been given by GEOAmey that it will be able to properly resource the courts from spring 2024.

According to a recent audit of the contract, GEOAmey’s on-going poor performance is resulting in delays and inefficiencies across the justice sector, which impact on policing, prison services and the courts. It now requires direct funding from the Government. In the light of that, will the Government confirm that there is no question of extending GEOAmey’s contract for a further four years, as would be permitted, and that its record will be taken into consideration during future bids for lucrative Government contracts?

There is no doubt that GEOAmey’s performance has been utterly unacceptable and that that has had huge impacts across the justice system. The criminal justice board has been engaged with issues relating to the contract and, as Teresa Medhurst, the Scottish Prison Service chief executive, stated at the Criminal Justice Committee last month, all options remain under consideration in relation to prisoner escort arrangements in Scotland.

GEOAmey’s performance will definitely be a vital factor to be considered when decisions are being made about the future model of the prisoner transport service contract. The SPS continues to monitor the performance of the contract carefully to ensure that targeted thresholds are met and that we see an appropriate level of service that meets the needs of the Scottish justice system.

The Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs will know from our correspondence during the summer of my concerns regarding the impact on local access to justice of the loss of sheriff and jury trials in the islands and rural courts. I welcome the fact that those will resume from the spring, although the duration of the loss is longer than anyone would have liked. Can the cabinet secretary offer reassurance that the changes to the contract with GEOAmey will ensure that rural and island courts are not seen as the expendable end of the justice system?

Mr McArthur and I have exchanged correspondence extensively on the matter—I have it here with me. We are seeing promising early signs. For example, there has been an increase by 40 in the number of police custody officers in the past three months, a number of officers are currently in training and staff attrition is down by 40 per cent. Nonetheless, we must closely monitor the situation. The point that Mr McArthur makes about the Highlands and island communities is well made. There have been particular issues in rural Scotland and in other areas of Scotland that we are focused on.