§ Mr. McFallTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the average cost of a sheriff court day(a) in criminal trials, giving details of (i) direct costs to Scottish courts administration, (ii) legal aid, (iii) Crown Office costs, (iv) the prison service and (v) the police and (b) in civil proofs, giving details of (i) direct costs to Scottish courts administration and (ii) legal aid costs.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonThe costs in 1992 of a sheriff court sitting day, averaged over summary criminal and civil business, was £784. This includes all direct costs borne by Scottish courts administration—staff salary costs, accommodation costs, central management costs and related adminstrative expenditure—but excludes judicial salaries which are borne on the Consolidated Fund. In addition, in criminal trials involving juries, there were additional costs for shorthand writers of £ 150 per day and payments to jurors of £631 per day.
The average cost to the Crown Office of a procurator fiscal depute's time is £250 per day. The average cost of the time spent by a procurator fiscal depute in court is £150 per day. To this figure falls to be added the cost of witness expenses, administrative costs of witness citations and the overheads associated with case preparation.
511WInformation about legal aid costs is not available in the form requested. In 1991–92 the average cost per case for providing legal aid in a sheriff court solemn trial was £2,049; in a sheriff court summary trial £798 and in a sheriff court civil case £699. These costs include fees paid to solicitors and counsel and outlays, including witness expenses.
Information in regard to the costs borne by the prison and police service for the provision of services in respect of daily sheriff court sittings is not available in the form requested. The Commission for Local Authority Accounts in Scotland has assessed the annual cost of police officers attending all the Scottish courts on, exclusively, witness duty as £7.8 million.
ESA Total Area Hectares Annual Payments 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 £ £ £ £ £ £ Breadalbane 181,000 16,270 126,150 203,600 221,350 264,670 271,110 Loch Lomond 50,000 — 24,350 48,750 58,920 92,240 89,270 Stewartry 42,000 — 17,800 200,640 422,410 507,620 511,910 Whitlaw and Eildon 8,000 — 900 26,350 39,000 47,460 59,460 Machair of the Uists, Benbecula, Barra and Vatersay 7,000 — 17,570 105,390 155,630 182,480 234.250