Island sheriff court staffing issues should be resolved in spring – Constance

Staffing problems which led to island sheriff court jury trials being moved to the mainland should be resolved in the spring, Justice Secretary Angela Constance has said.

However she described the performance of private contractor GEOAmey as “utterly unacceptable”.

Since last summer, staffing issues at the prisoner escort service have affected trials due to call at Stornoway, Lerwick, Portree and Lochmaddy sheriff courts.

Asked about the issue at Holyrood, Ms Constance said there had recently been progress with a “slowdown in staff attrition and improved staff numbers”.

She added: “Assurances have been given by GEOAmey that they will be able to properly resource the courts from spring 2024.”

Responding to questions from the Greens’ Arianne Burgess, Ms Constance said: “There’s no doubt about it, the performance of GEOAmey has been utterly unacceptable and has had huge impacts across the justice system.”

She said the company’s performance would “definitely” be considered in discussions around the future of prisoner transport.