MSP wants Kirkcaldy to follow Inverness with justice centre.

KIRKCALDY: MSP claims justice is being delayed due to poor standards

A Fife MSP has called for progress on a new justice centre for Kirkcaldy.

It comes as Mid Scotland and Fife Labour MSP Claire Baker claimed adjournments of criminal trials was up 64% in the past five years.

Adjournments due to a lack of court time had risen dramatically in the past five years, from 107 to 231.

Ms Baker has been calling for action after a 2012 Scottish Court Services consultation led to the closure of courts across Scotland.

That report said the town would be a more appropriate location for a sheriff and jury centre for east Fife but that was not immediately feasible because accommodation was not of a good enough standard.

The Scottish Government has already backed a justice centre in Inverness to the tune of £23 million.

With reports in 2017 that jury trials may be moved from court into a local police station, the MSP was critical of a lack of movement from the Scottish Government.

“Meanwhile, we witness a significant increase in delays, especially as a result of lack of court time,” she said.

“As our justice system adapts to modern times, Kirkcaldy is left standing still, with a building trying to cope with a lack of space, poor equipment and the potential for witness and accused to pass in the stairwell.

“The current building is no longer fit for purpose.”

A Scottish Government spokesman said it was in dialogue with the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS), with a draft budget allocation including the means to start work in the year ahead to improve the situation in Kirkcaldy.

A spokesman for the SCTS said Inverness would set a new standard for justice services and this is an approach it hoped to be able to replicate in other areas, particularly Fife where there is widespread support for a similar facility in Kirkcaldy.

But that would come at a huge cost and many years in the planning, so, with Scottish Government financial support, it was finalising plans which will “vastly improve our court services in Kirkcaldy for all victims and witnesses and ensure that justice is delivered locally”.

As our justice system adapts to modern times, Kirkcaldy is left standing still...

CLAIRE BAKER MSP

Picture: Kris Miller. Conditions at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court have been heavily criticised.