HC Deb 11 February 1976 vol 905 cc437-8
38. Mr. Teddy Taylor

asked the Lord Advocate when he last visited the Sheriff Court in Glasgow.

The Lord Advocate

I last visited the Sheriff Court in Glasgow on 24th February 1975.

Mr. Taylor

Is the Lord Advocate aware that solicitors have represented to me that the conditions in Glasgow Sheriff Court are deplorable and that, in addition, it is quite unsuitable for coping with the substantial increase in criminal prosecutions?

Further, does the Lord Advocate agree that witnesses for both defence and prosecution have had to be accommodated in one room at the sheriff court, and that in the view of Glasgow solicitors this tends to interfere with the course of justice?

The Lord Advocate

I am aware that the accommodation in Glasgow Sheriff Court leaves a great deal to be desired.

As to the difficulty about witnesses, I am bound to say that the procurator fiscal and the staff of the sheriff court do their best to ensure that witnesses appearing on opposite sides in the same case are accommodated in different places. Sometimes mistakes may occur. If the hon. Gentleman has a particular case to bring to my notice I shall be glad to consider it.