§ 50. Lord James Douglas-Hamiltonasked the Solicitor-General for Scotland whether he is satisfied that the Crown Office has sufficient staff to take precognitions when necessary and to ensure expeditious trials in Scotland.
§ The Solicitor-General for ScotlandGenerally, precognitions are taken by procurators fiscal, their deputes and precognition officers although from time to time members of the legal staff of Crown Office are instructed to carry out precognition work. My Department is hard pressed to cope with all the necessary precognition work. A modest increase this year has been authorised and it is hoped that the work will all be carried out competently. The situation is kept under constant review.