Borders MSP slams government over lack of investment into courts

The response revealed that essential maintenance work was required in both courts, as well as upgrades to court room components.

The total cost of the repairs across all courts in Scotland equates to £7.3million almost the entire £8 million capital budget of the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS)

That capital budget was £5 million less than the £13 million the SCTS had requested from the Scottish Government.

Borders MSP Rachael Hamilton joined her party’s justice spokesman, Jamie Greene, in slamming the SNP for short-changing court service and warned that a failure to carry out the repair work risked the enormous backlog of court cases growing even larger.

Ms Hamilton said: “As the two Sheriff Courts in the Borders continue to tackle a backlog of cases from the pandemic, it is disappointing to see their workplace neglected by the Scottish Government.

“The scale of repair work required to keep our courts safe, habitable and up to date is truly shocking.

Selkirk Sheriff Court

“If the SNP want to get a handle on court backlogs, they will need to direct more investment in to the court services.

“The court service requested this – but they continue to be ignored and short-changed to the tune of £5 million by ministers.

“The SNP have already made it abundantly clear that justice is not a priority for them. Now we are seeing the consequences of their neglect – potential court delays because essential maintenance to keep them open cannot be carried out due to lack of funds.

“There are dozens of trials outstanding in courts here in the Borders, leaving victims of crime waiting years for justice. This number could get even larger if the state of our courts is not addressed as a matter of urgency.

“By allowing our courts to crumble and ignoring the calls of the SCTS, the SNP are letting down victims of crime, who should be able to see the swift justice they deserve.”

In response the Scottish Government insisted that measures they are currently taking are having a positive impact on the backlogs.

A spokesperson said: “We are working with the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Services to support improvement works to their current court facilities to help continue the delivery of services.

“We also continue to support justice agencies to take action to address the backlog caused by the COVID pandemic.

“We have established a justice recovery fund of £53.2m to be allocated to recovery, renewal and transformation activity across the justice system in 2022-23.

“This includes funding of £26.5m to the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service to maintain enhanced court capacity and remote jury centres and builds on our £50m programme in 2021-22.

“These measures are having a positive impact on the backlog with reductions in the number of outstanding scheduled trials seen each month this year.”