Skip to main content
Loading…

Chamber and committees

Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

Filter your results Hide all filters

Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 5 May 2021
  6. Current session: 12 May 2021 to 29 July 2025
Select which types of business to include


Select level of detail in results

Displaying 1390 contributions

|

Meeting of the Parliament

Medication Assisted Treatment Standards

Meeting date: 20 June 2023

Elena Whitham

I thank Dame Jackie for her question. I recognise that she has a keen interest in the area. I am determined that we will see sustained implementation of the standards by the dates that are set out in the benchmarking report, because there is no option but to ensure that we prevent harm and save lives.

I will ensure that the areas that are not where we want them to be continually have monthly meetings with me, because the letter of direction will remain in place. However, I also want to engage with local leaders on the matter. Local elected members need to work in partnership with us to ensure that we drive change forward.

Meeting of the Parliament

Moveable Transactions (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

Meeting date: 4 May 2023

Elena Whitham

On a point of order, Presiding Officer.

My app is saying “Vote failed. Could not connect.” I would have voted yes.

Meeting of the Parliament

Court Maintenance Backlog

Meeting date: 29 March 2023

Elena Whitham

I apologise to everyone if I end up in a coughing fit—I have a chesty cough at the moment.

I am grateful that we are having this debate, as it is an opportunity to advise Parliament about an emerging, positive report of recovery and transformation in our justice system.

Let me be clear about some of the points that Liam Kerr and other members have raised. Mr Kerr sought to characterise the maintenance backlog in the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service’s estate as an investment failure. He also raised the prospect of court closures. Both of those points are inaccurate. There are no plans to initiate further court closures. The SCTS is of the view—which I agree with—that the current court model provides appropriate access to justice for Scotland’s communities. However, there is always more work to be done.

On the maintenance backlog, a professional industry standard approach is adopted, which is to look forward to assess future investment requirements to keep buildings safe and operational. To ensure that the court estate remains in good condition, the SCTS sets a minimum target of investing 1 per cent of the value of the estate on the maintenance backlog each year. That is about £5.3 million, based on the current evaluation.

Through additional in-year funding that was provided by this Government, the SCTS has been able to invest more than 1 per cent in recent years and to schedule works such as the replacement of the Glasgow sheriff court roof. I will put that funding into a bit of context. This year, the total investment in the maintenance backlog will be about £8 million, which, again, is above that 1 per cent figure.

Over the past years, the cost of the maintenance backlog has come down significantly from £39 million to the current figure of £29.5 million. It is important to provide some context to that amount. The SCTS manages a vast and complex estate, as has been mentioned. More than half of the court buildings are listed, and a number of those are significant landmarks that are based in world heritage sites. The SCTS has assessed that the level of investment and maintenance is sufficient to maintain the estate in a safe and operational condition, and I have no reason to doubt that assessment. Its record of success in managing the court estate speaks for itself.

The SCTS has led a number of important innovations, including the establishment of the Inverness justice centre, which was opened in 2020; the establishment of vulnerable witness suites, which are to avoid children and vulnerable witnesses having to attend court physically; and the use of cinemas as remote jury centres to allow the most serious cases to continue during the Covid pandemic.

Over the past decade, although facilities have sometimes been taken out of commission to allow planned improvement works to take place, there have been no instances in which a maintenance issue has resulted in an unscheduled court closure or impacted on any trials.

However, the modern justice system is made up of more than its physical estate. Having digital capabilities that support modern, person-centred services is a critical part of our transformation agenda. Building on innovation and new ways of working that were introduced as part of the justice response to the coronavirus pandemic, we are continuing to focus on deploying technology and new approaches to make the system more joined up and work better for everyone who experiences it.

Recently, the Cabinet Secretary for Justice visited Dundee to see in action the new digital evidence sharing capability—DESC—service that is being piloted there. DESC is a world-leading major programme of digital transformation through which the Scottish Government and its criminal justice partners have come together to radically overhaul the way in which evidence is shared in the criminal justice system in Scotland.

DESC will make it easier to share evidence, allowing swifter access and helping cases to be resolved more quickly, which will reduce inconvenience and the risk of trauma to victims, witnesses and other users of the justice system. None of us here wants victims to be traumatised, and we need to move on that issue.

At £33 million, DESC represents a significant investment by the Scottish Government. However, as well as being transformative in its own right, it creates a foundation for future transformation, both as a technology platform and through its pathfinder role in establishing a successful model of collaborative delivery of system reform.

We are also continuing to invest substantially in increased court capacity. That has contributed to the strong progress that we have seen in clearing the backlog of summary criminal cases. Since January 2022, the number of outstanding summary trials has reduced by over a third and is continuing to fall. That means that more than 15,500 cases have been cleared from the backlog so far.

However, we want to see similar progress in High Court and sheriff and jury cases, which, as Pauline McNeill outlined, are sometimes the most traumatic cases for victims. Therefore, from April, the extra summary courts will be replaced by new, additional solemn courts, which will create more capacity to deal with the more serious cases. That has been made possible because, despite the challenges of the national context, our 2023-24 budget protects recovery funding of over £26 million for the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service.

In addition to increasing court capacity, we will work with our different partners to address the impact of the backlog on vulnerable witnesses through facilitating the expansion of pre-recorded evidence.

Meeting of the Parliament

Court Maintenance Backlog

Meeting date: 29 March 2023

Elena Whitham

I think that whoever is in this post—whether or not that is me—and whoever is the incoming cabinet secretary for justice will have to keep a keen eye on that matter and bring it back to the chamber for discussion. We obviously want to see the backlog numbers reduce dramatically. We have already seen the number of summary cases reduce by over a third, and I want to see the number of cases in solemn trials and High Court trials reduce significantly as well.

We are also investing £2 million in the development of dedicated suites for hearing evidence on commission and associated infrastructure, to increase the use of pre-recorded evidence. That funding has delivered three suites, located in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Inverness, which collectively have the capacity to deliver almost 1,500 hearings a year. A fourth suite is in development in Aberdeen, which, once open, will enable an additional 480 hearings to take place each year.

We have also reached a pivotal phase in our journey towards introducing the bairns’ hoose in Scotland, with the publication of national bairns’ hoose standards expected in May. They will then be tested in pathfinder areas during our first phase of development.

The Government is committed to delivering our vision for justice. In spite of a decade of austerity imposed by the UK Government, I am confident that, with the current level of funding provided by the Scottish Government—the additional borrowing powers that Katy Clark mentioned would be very welcome as well—the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service will continue to use its resources in the most focused and effective way to deliver justice services that meet the needs of modern Scottish society.

Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Meeting date: 28 March 2023

Elena Whitham

Good morning, convener and members. Thank you for the opportunity to speak to the committee about the Legal Aid and Advice and Assistance (Miscellaneous Amendment) (Scotland) (No 2) Regulations 2023.

The instrument has been laid to deliver changes to legal aid regulations, primarily to ensure continuing access to justice in Scotland. It provides for an overall 10.25 per cent uplift in legal aid fees, distributed via a combination of targeted fee reforms and uplifts and overall increases.

The solemn and summary criminal fee reforms have been revised to ensure that, augmented by increases in specific fees, they deliver an overall increase of 10.3 per cent in fees payable for such cases. All other criminal fees not affected by fee reforms will be uplifted by 10.2 per cent. All civil and children’s fees will be uplifted by 10.2 per cent.

Restoring the criminal justice system in light of the impact of the Covid pandemic is critical to all involved in the justice system. The instrument implements a long-standing commitment to reform solemn and summary fees to deliver simplification and to better recognise preparatory work that is undertaken before a trial. The changes are a vital part of the Scottish Government’s wider strategic reform objectives.

The amendments to legal aid fees will also support the recover, renew, transform programme through enhanced remuneration where it is appropriate for there to be early resolution in cases. By supporting early resolution, the reforms will reduce the number of cases for which trial diets are fixed. That will assist with the courts recovery programme in tackling a backlog of cases due to the Covid lockdown and providing a more timely conclusion for victims and witnesses of crime.

That gives a brief overview of the draft regulations and their context. I am happy to answer any questions.

Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Meeting date: 28 March 2023

Elena Whitham

I have thought about the thresholds and what they mean for people who do not have access to legal aid. I am definitely keen to understand the figures, but I do not know whether those are available—

Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Meeting date: 28 March 2023

Elena Whitham

It is very helpful to set that out. In relation to the thresholds and people’s expenditure, the picture during a cost of living crisis is very different from the one a couple of years ago. We absolutely need to be cognisant of that.

Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Meeting date: 28 March 2023

Elena Whitham

Yes—I am very happy to look at the impact of the regulations as we go forward. As Shona Urquhart has set out, the 2026 date is not set in stone. We are now in a position where we are able to work as fast as possible to implement what we can. It is also helpful to understand that, as Shona Urquhart has already said, the profession is now on board with the process, which is really important. After Martyn Evans’s report came out, we also had the pandemic. Although some issues have held us back a bit, we will now, collectively, work as quickly as we can on that measure.

Since I came into post, I have had many conversations with the Law Society and the Faculty of Advocates, and we are setting up a working group, which will be co-chaired by all of us, to look at the future of the legal profession. That will include issues not just about reform but about diversity and how we retain people who are entering the profession; it is a jigsaw of things that all have to come together.

Although I understand some of the issues that have been raised in the Law Society’s letter, the letter itself does not actually represent the full state of play at the moment and the good will being shown by everybody around the table as we try to get a sustainable legal aid system for the whole of Scotland.

Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Meeting date: 28 March 2023

Elena Whitham

Last December, my predecessor as minister sent a letter to the Criminal Justice Committee with some annexes that it might be helpful for us to share with this committee in relation to its consideration of how we reform legal aid in the future.

In his report on the independent strategic review of legal aid in 2018, Martyn Evans stated that he was unable to recommend any concrete legal aid fee reforms because of the complexity of the system. Given the necessity of benchmarking the use of public money, I am clear that we need to gather in all the data. That will be important for enabling us to set out from the beginning what those reforms will look like.

As I said, it is a complex state of affairs and it would be helpful if we can provide that information to the committee to help members to understand the situation as we go forward in reform. We need to ensure that we take the time to get that right. There is no rushing that.

Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Meeting date: 28 March 2023

Elena Whitham

If the regulations today are agreed, once implemented, that will give an £11 million increase from April, which is going to be of benefit. In order to understand how we need to increase the fees going forward, we have to have that benchmarking information and that data. It might be helpful if I bring in Shona Urquhart at this point to speak a bit more directly to the question that Rachael Hamilton has asked.