§ 38. Mr. Ancramasked the Solicitor-General for Scotland what arrangements he is making to deal with the backlog of criminal prosecutions caused by the recent industrial action which affected the courts in Scotland.
§ The Solicitor-General for ScotlandAdditional sittings of the High Court have been arranged and priority is being given to cases in which the accused person is in custody. Arrangements to deal with solemn and summary prosecutions in the sheriff court vary. In some courts there is little or no backlog. In the places where the situation is worst special courts have been arranged to dispose of as much of the backlog as possible while at the same time avoiding the creation of a fresh backlog in relation to current work.