Perth Sheriff Court needs maintenance work estimated to cost nearly half a million pounds - the fifth highest total worked out for repairs needed at sheriff court buildings across Scotland.
Data obtained by the Scottish Conservatives using Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation shows court buildings across the country require more than £7.3 million worth of repairs in total.
And a document setting out what work each of Scotland’s functioning court buildings requires shows Perth Sheriff Court has been identified as needing £422,000 worth of upkeep including electrical work costing £95,000 and a planned £250,000 upgrade of one of its courtrooms.
The sum is the fifth highest amount worked out for repairs required at sheriff courts in the country surpassed only by Alloa, Falkirk, Glasgow and Hamilton where £564,211, £810,000, £1,261,714 and £503,759 worth of maintenance is needed respectively.
Scottish Conservative Mid Scotland and Fife MSP Murdo Fraser described the Perth figure as “astronomical” and claimed the total amount of outstanding costed work required at court buildings across Scotland demonstrated justice was “not a priority” for the Scottish Government under the SNP.
Mr Fraser remarked: “From these figures we can clearly see how low a priority justice is to this SNP government.
“This was shown by the capital budget being £5m less than the SCTS had requested from the SNP, which is shocking.
“This has led to the neglect of our court buildings across the country, including Perth Sheriff Court, which we’re told needs an astronomical £422,000 of repairs – not far short of half a million.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said in response: “We are working with the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Services (SCTS) to support improvement works to their current court facilities to help continue the delivery of services.
“We also continue to support justice agencies to take action to address the backlog caused by the COVID pandemic.
“We have established a justice recovery fund of £53.2m to be allocated to recovery, renewal and transformation activity across the justice system in 2022-23.
“This includes funding of £26.5m to the SCTS to maintain enhanced court capacity and remote jury centres and builds on our £50m programme in 2021-22.
“These measures are having a positive impact on the backlog with reductions in the number of outstanding scheduled trials seen each month this year.”
A spokesperson for the SCTS added: “The safety and security of all those who use court and tribunal facilities is a key priority for SCTS.
“We have an extensive and historic estate across Scotland which we maintain to ensure that business can be conducted in a safe environment.
“Similar to all organisations with a large property estate, effective management and planning of backlog maintenance is key to ensuring that the most essential works are carried out as a priority.
“In addition to the annual budget settlement we work closely with Scottish Government to secure additional in-year capital funding, to match our maintenance programme.
“There have been no instances where an SCTS building maintenance issue has resulted in a court closure or impacted on any trials.”
