Scotland’s court service has been slammed over costs which “do not add up” at the remaining seat of justice in Angus.
The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) has spent more than £1.5 million on Forfar Sheriff Court since closing Arbroath to save cash in the long term.
The decision to “target” more spending on Forfar has been described as “a shambles” following a subsequent choice to send the most serious cases to Dundee.
The SCTS has spent £1,509,620 on capital upgrades at Forfar in four years, against cost savings of £64,147 made by closing the former court in Arbroath.
The service maintained its increased level of spending on Forfar is not “in any way” related to increased business, and that direct spending to accommodate the additional Arbroath business totals £0.25m.
Solicitor Nick Whelan, one local agent who said the move of all business to Forfar would cause financial hardship to less affluent clients, believes the increase in spending massively outstrips any savings.
North East MSP Alex Johnstone, who also spoke out against centralising justice in 2013, fears the increasing costs at Forfar will lead to a decision to move all justice services to Dundee.
In its Shaping Scotland’s Court Services Evaluation Report, the SCTS states the three-year saving for closing 10 sheriff courts and seven justice of the peace courts across Scotland is £2,072,000 — an increase of £19K from the original evaluation report.
Mr Whelan said the £64,147 earned by closing Arbroath does not defray the cost to the public and their solicitors in travel.
He said: “It is clear that the cost saving projections that prompted the closure quite simply do not add up. That figure does not include the additional cost of travel expenses of witnesses and solicitors travelling to Forfar.
“Nor does it include the obvious difficulty for members of the public who seek to access justice whose rights are clearly being curtailed by the closure of courts.”
Mr Johnstone said: “This process has been an unmitigated shambles from start to finish.
“The public were against the decision to close the Arbroath court and the SNP failed to listen.
“The legal profession were against this and again the SNP would not listen, and we now know that the financial arguments used to justify the whole shabby scenario are woefully off the mark.”
“It seems to me that ultimately, these figures will be used to justify sending all court business to Dundee, making justice even more remote from the communities it is supposed to serve.
“With the Arbroath court building still lying empty, perhaps the Scottish Government should review this debacle, and consider reopening it.
“The Scottish justice system was once the envy of the world.
“Now it is reduced to empty buildings and video booths.”
Court service responds
A spokesman said: “Any suggestion that the investment in Forfar was misguided, or that the court is being downgraded and activity centralised in Dundee is totally inaccurate.
“The Shaping Scotland’s Court Services report, published in April 2013, set out our long term plans for the court estate which included the creation of a sheriff and jury centre in Dundee. The sheriff and jury trials transferring to Dundee are a small element of Forfar’s overall business and Forfar will continue to deal with all summary criminal cases and the full range of civil and family cases.
“SCTS has a significant estate with 71 properties valued in excess of £375m, with annual running costs in excess of £30m. Given the largely historic nature of our estate and the continual demand for service improvement, we have a rolling investment programme of maintenance and improvement across all of our courts. One of the benefits of our new court structure is the ability to target investment in a smaller number properties to improve facilities for all court users.
“Forfar has benefited from this much needed investment, which is entirely consistent with our long term plans as set out in our Shaping Scotland’s Court Services report.”
