Work So Far (Nov 2007)
The team is led by the Sheriffdom Business Manager, David Fraser, and supported by a Project Manager, Lora Crabtree and senior sheriff clerks, Audrey Bayliss and Fiona Hendry. Subsequently all Sheriff Clerks have joined the team.
When the team was formed at the beginning of March 2006 their first goal was to learn about the District Court staff. Initial visits in March were followed by more detailed work in specific courts which involved gathering information on how the District Courts processed their business.
Discussions were also held with Grampian Police and Northern Constabulary (Central Ticket Office and Safety Camera Partnership). From the data gathered detailed process maps were produced and during August 2006 District Court staff were asked to verify the accuracy of the conclusions drawn and the process maps produced.
User Groups have been established to cover all courts and are chaired by the Sheriff Clerks in Aberdeen, Peterhead, Elgin, Inverness and Dingwall. Each group has a staff and JP representative from the District Court, Procurator Fiscal, Reliance, Witness Service, Social Work and the local Faculty. Through these forums links have been established and will serve to ensure effective communication as the project evolves.
Consultation and the way forward:
Following the closure of the consultation on proposals to unify courts with GH&I, Eleanor Emberson, SCS Chief Executive, expressed her thanks to those who took the time to give considered and thoughtful responses.
A copy of the final report and its recommendations has now been accepted by the Cabinet Secretary and is available on the SCS Website. (http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/summary_justice_reform/updates.asp)
In summary, these recommendations are that from the implementation date of 2 June 2008, new JP courts will operate in Aberdeen, Banff, Dingwall, Dornoch, Elgin, Fort William, Inverness, Portree, Peterhead, Stonehaven, Stornoway, Tain and Wick. Business from Inverurie District Court will transfer to the new Aberdeen JP Court and business from Nairn District Court and Kingussie District Court will be heard in the new JP Court in Inverness.
The main issue which arose during consultation was the loss of local justice if there were no JP courts operating in Nairn, Kingussie and Inverurie. In making our judgement and recommendations, we had to weigh these very real concerns against efficiency and best value for the taxpayer, future volumes of business and ensuring high quality court accommodation.
We also took account of the nature of future JP courts where some of the business currently handled will be dealt with through fiscal fines, compensation orders or Police fixed penalty notices. After unification, some of the business currently handled in the Sheriff Court will be dealt with by the JP court. This requires additional facilities in JP court buildings, for example, in relation to custody and witness facilities and to secure access routes in buildings. With a cost of at least £2.4 million to bring courts in Nairn, Kingussie and Inverurie to a suitable standard and with available capacity to hear this business in Inverness and Aberdeen, we concluded that we could not justify or afford this expenditure for the level of business conducted in these courts.
We are committed to ensuring that JPs in the new courts will continue to play a major role in the delivery of justice for their local areas. We will work closely with other local criminal justice agencies to achieve this and look at a number of issues such as the programming of court business.
SCS have met with The Highland, Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Councils representing Nairn, Kingussie and Inverurie to discuss the outcome of the consultation and implementation issues and to ensure their staff are advised of this decision.
Recruitment:
Sheriffdom Legal Adviser:Kay Polson commenced in post in June 2007 as Sheriffdom Legal Adviser (SLA). Kay’s first priorities have included supporting the Sheriff Principal in setting up new Justices' committees and advising the Sheriffdom Business Manager on issues regarding the recruitment and management of legal advisers.
Fines Enforcement Manager
Mike McBey commenced in August 2007 as an interim Fines Enforcement Manger. Mike will be responsible for taking forward the changes occurring to the procedures in fines collection and enforcement. Mike will be supported by Fines Enforcement Officers, for whom a recruitment campaign is currently ongoing.
Legal Advisers
A recruitment exercise was concluded in October 2007 and suitable candidates have been identified to fill all the vacancies for all Legal Advisers throughout GH&I.
Fines Enforcement Officers
The recruitment of Fines Enforcement Officers is now complete and it is hoped the successful candidates will be in post on 30th November 2007.