§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he is taking to speed up the fixing of hearing dates for compensation claims made by retired industrial workers suffering terminal illnesses.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonThe Scottish Law Commission will shortly be publishing a report on the adverse effects created by the death of parties pursuing certain types of reparation action: the report will pave the way for a reform of the present law.
Expedited ie "fast stream" procedures for the disposal of certain repatriation actions already exist in the supreme courts and the courts are aware of the need to accelerate in-court procedures where special circumstances apply, subject always to the need to preserve the rights and interests of all parties to a litigation.
In regard to the sheriff courts, the Sheriff Court Rules Council is currently considering proposals for reducing delays in disposing of actions generally, including compensation claims of the type referred to, and a working group is currently examining ways of improving the programming and scheduling of court business.