THIS PAPER RELATES TO ITEM 11 COUNCIL ON THE AGENDA

Report to Clackmannanshire Council

Date of Meeting: 20th December 2012

Subject: Scottish Court Service Consultation - Proposals for a Court Structure for the Future

Report by: Governance Manager

1.0 Purpose 1.1. The Purpose of this report is to bring to the attention of Council the implications for Clackmannanshire Council and Clackmannanshire residents of the proposals by the Scottish Court Service (SCS) on the future structure of Court Services in Clackmannanshire, and to seek approval of the draft response on behalf of Clackmannanshire Council.

2.0 Recommendations

2.1. Council is asked to:

2.1.1. consider the implications of the SCS consultation proposals;

2.1.2. note how these proposals impact upon Clackmannanshire Council and Clackmannanshire residents (paras 3.8 - 3.10);

2.1.3. approve the draft response to proposals 2 and 6 of SCS consultation (Appendix 1), in particular the proposal to enter into discussions with SCS and other partner agencies around establishing a co-located court site within Alloa, subject to Council approval should a viable proposal be identified.

3.0 Considerations

3.1. In September 2012, the SCS launched a public consultation process outlining proposals for the future structure of Court provision in .

3.2. As a consequence of forthcoming changes to both the provision of civil and criminal justice, the Board of the SCS has considered how the provision of Courts in Scotland could be best provided. They state that their challenge "is to provide a court structure that (a) provides Scotland's citizens with services and facilities consistent with the standards of a modern system; (b) is ready

91 to support the anticipated reforms effectively, and (c) is affordable within the reduced budget available to us".

3.3. The SCS Consultation paper is a result of previous discussions that involved the Board of the SCS, their staff, the judiciary and others who participated in a series of public events held earlier in 2012. These proposals are now being tested through a process of public consultation. The closing date for responses is 12pm on 21 December 2012.

3.4. The consultation paper is lengthy and detailed, and examines all areas of Court business and structures, seeking to provide a context for the proposed changes. Pages 38 to 45 outline the context of the changes for all Courts, with Alloa being earmarked for closure, due primarily to it's proximity to Sheriff Court, and the costs of running the court. Only proposals 2 and 6 directly affect Clackmannanshire Council area.

3.5. Part 4 of the consultation details the changes in terms of Sheriffdom, with Alloa being part of the Sheriffdom of , Central and (pp63 - 67). It is to be noted that the court figures quoted do not include the number of children's referrals heard at Alloa Sheriff Court, which is a significant number of cases.

3.6. Part 5 of the consultation details the financial aspects of, and justifications for, the proposals with an estimated annual running cost saving of £37,000 for Alloa Sheriff Court. There is also an estimated backlog maintenance saving of £1,016,000, however the context of this is rather unclear and further information has been requested by the local faculty of lawyers, Gordon Banks MP and Keith Brown, MSP.

3.7. The main proposals therefore affecting Clackmannanshire are:

• The closure of the Sheriff Court and Court in Alloa;

• The transfer of sheriff and jury (solemn) cases from Alloa Sheriff Court to Sheriff Court;

• The transfer of summary criminal and civil court business to Stirling Sheriff Court.

3.8. The main implications for Clackmannanshire Council are:-

• becoming the only Local Authority in Scotland not to have a Sheriff Court within it's administrative area.

• potential changes in the delivery of Criminal Justice Services. At present there is almost instantaneous access to services for those convicted of offences and given a based disposal. CJS staff are present within Alloa Sheriff Court, or can be requested to attend at short notice due to their close proximity, resulting in a speedier access to services. Moving solemn cases to Falkirk Sheriff Court and summary cases to Stirling Sheriff Court may seriously compromise the Criminal Justice Service's ability to comply with the national guidance on post sentence speed immediacy due to logistical problems for staff.

92 • across Housing Services, Adult Care Social Services, Child Care Services, Criminal Justice Services and Legal Services there will be increased need for staff to be "out of the office" for longer periods due to increased travel times to attend at Stirling and Falkirk Sheriff Courts, alongwith the associated travel costs. This will inevitably impact upon the service delivery to Clackmannanshire with key-workers required to be outwith the area.

• a potential reduction, or delay, in access to court for "emergency orders" such as child protection orders, warrants for Environmental Services and Mental Health Teams.

• a potential loss to Alloa Town Centre and it's regeneration. There is a concern that local legal firms, who rely on court business, may relocate due to financial constraints within Legal Aid, including not being able to recover the costs of travel to Stirling to represent clients. Alloa already has a number of shop-front vacancies which would only be compounded should law firms relocate.

3.9. The main implication for Clackmannanshire residents are:

• Increased travel for victims, witnesses, Police Officers, jurors, accused and litigants in civil matters. This will result in increased expense for many groups whose disposable income is already limited and likely to be affected by the upcoming welfare reforms;

• A potential increase in delays in proceedings due to the non-appearance of an accused, a witness or party to an action, with a possible increase in the number of warrants for arrest being issued, which again would result in increased costs to partner agencies;

• Significant disadvantages to key vulnerable groups:-

o Women - increased anxiety in having to travel further to give evidence in domestic and/or sexual abuse cases;

o Young people and children involved in Court proceedings, whether in relation to child protection, adoption, child welfare or family law matters being required to travel further;

o People with substance misuse issues and who are subject to Drugs Testing and Treatment Orders being required to travel further.

• A compromising of the spirit of 'community justice' with decisions being made by the judiciary who may have no connection to, or are perceived as being remote from, the communities in Clackmannanshire;

• The principle of an accused being tried by 'their peers' in solemn proceedings would be compromised with the removal of solemn cases to another local authority area;

• The consultation paper itself points out that the proposals could have unknown consequences for other partners and citizens;

93 • It may lead to an increase in people having to attend Court more often and it may increase the use of remand by Sheriffs due to the potential for repeated non-attendance by accused persons;

• For other traders inconvenience and increased costs associated with having to go another area to raise any court actions;

3.10. There are a number of other more general factors that should also be considered:

• The Criminal Justice Service in its interface with Alloa Sheriff Court over 2011/12 were responsible for handling 743 requests for reports, 400 Community Supervision Orders and 466 requests for Bail information. As such there is real concern as to the capacity of Stirling Sheriff Court to absorb this significant activity.

• The court business figures quoted do not include child welfare referrals or family proceedings such as adoptions. Alloa Sheriff Court has a very high volume of such cases. There is a real concern that Stirling Sheriff Court would not have the capacity to deal with this level of business.

• There has already been a substantial capital investment made by SCS during the recent refurbishment of Alloa Sheriff Court.

• The backlog maintenance figure does not specify a programme of works to establish how quickly this saving would be realised.

• Local properties of this type are difficult to sell and as such there is a concern that the existing court building would lie empty for a long period, detracting from the image of Alloa Town centre.

3.11. Clackmannanshire residents and Community Councils were invited to contribute comments to the consultation through a survey on Clacksweb. These comments have been included in Clackmannanshire Council's formal response. A summary from the survey is:

• Q1 Do you agree with the proposal to close Alloa Sheriff Court - 38 said NO; 3 said YES.

• Of those saying NO - 31 said this was because of inconvenience; 29 due to the impact on vulnerable groups; 29 due to the cost implications; 27 due to the impact on the local economy; 27 due to a slower justice service; 25 due to the message this sends out about Clackmannanshire as a priority; 26 due to the loss of local knowledge about Clackmannanshire's circumstances.

• Q2 Do you feel that the Courts being moved to Stirling or Falkirk will lead to a better, poorer or neither better or poorer justice system - 37 said poorer; 2 said better; 2 said neither better or poorer.

• The Community Councils collectively objected to the closure on the grounds of local need, the impact upon citizens and on the Services who support vulnerable people, the impact on the local economy and

94 Clackmannanshire's positive image, and finally, the greater potential for error and injustice.

3.12. An alternate proposal to be presented to SCS is that the Council would wish to enter into discussions with SCS as to how it's accommodation within Alloa could be reconfigured to essentially be "fit for purpose". A potential solution could be to construct a purpose built facility which co-locates Police, Criminal Justice Services and the Courts Service within one location (similar to the model used in Livingston). This solution would build upon initiatives to reduce the size of the public sector estate, whilst maintaining access to justice locally, and would resonate with the approach identified by the SCS at paragraph 1.5 of the consultation document.

4.0 Sustainability Implications

4.1. As outlined in main body of report.

5.0 Resource Implications

5.1. Financial Details

5.2. The full financial implications of the recommendations are set out in the report. This includes a reference to full life cycle costs where appropriate. Yes x

5.3. Finance have been consulted and have agreed the financial implications as set out in the report. Yes x

5.4. Staffing

5.5. As detailed in section 3.8 of report.

6.0 Exempt Reports

6.1. Is this report exempt? Yes (please detail the reasons for exemption below) No x

7.0 Declarations

The recommendations contained within this report support or implement our Corporate Priorities and Council Policies.

(1) Our Priorities (Please double click on the check box ;)

The area has a positive image and attracts people and businesses x Our communities are more cohesive and inclusive x People are better skilled, trained and ready for learning and employment Our communities are safer x Vulnerable people and families are supported x

95 Substance misuse and its effects are reduced x Health is improving and health inequalities are reducing The environment is protected and enhanced for all The Council is effective, efficient and recognised for excellence x

(2) Council Policies (Please detail)

8.0 Equalities Impact

8.1 Have you undertaken the required equalities impact assessment to ensure that no groups are adversely affected by the recommendations? Yes x No

9.0 Legality

9.1 It has been confirmed that in adopting the recommendations contained in this report, the Council is acting within its legal powers. Yes x

10.0 Appendices

10.1 Please list any appendices attached to this report. If there are no appendices, please state "none".

Appendix 1 - Clackmannanshire Council's draft response to the proposals 2 and 6 of the consultation.

11.0 Background Papers

11.1 Have you used other documents to compile your report? (All documents must be kept available by the author for public inspection for four years from the date of meeting at which the report is considered) Yes x (please list the documents below) No

Scottish Court Service, Shaping Scotland's Court Services, a public consultation on proposals for a Court structure for the future (September 2012)

Author(s)

NAME DESIGNATION TEL NO / EXTENSION

Lisa Simpson Governance manager 01259 452084

96 Approved by

NAME DESIGNATION SIGNATURE

Nikki Bridle Director of Finance & Corporate Services

Elaine McPherson Chief Executive

97

98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110