Anger as three courts shut down by MSPs in knife-edge vote

Published on Tuesday 17 November 2009 21:24

SCOTTISH Government proposals to close three district courts – in Girvan, Cumnock and East Kilbride – were yesterday backed by MSPs after a Holyrood committee voting deadlock.

MSPs on the justice committee split 4-4 on the plan to close courts in Girvan and Cumnock.

One Liberal Democrat and three Labour MSPs voted to block the closure, while three SNP MSPs, and committee convener and Conservative MSP Bill Aitken, backed the government plan.

Mr Aitken then used his casting vote to defeat Labour MSP Cathy Jamieson's attempt to kill the proposals.

He told MSPs: "The proposals the government has brought forward are far from ideal."

But, he added: "I do have to recognise the financial situation which exists."

Yesterday's vote represented a victory for justice secretary Kenny MacAskill in his second attempt to secure parliamentary backing for the plan.

Earlier this year, he failed to persuade the committee to back plans to close district courts in Girvan, Cumnock and Annan, as part of a wider shake-up of the lower-level court system, replacing council-run district courts with new justice of the peace courts to be overseen by the Scottish Court Service.

A proposal to close the court in Annan was dropped after the earlier defeat.

In some cases, the new JP courts will be relocated to existing court premises in bigger towns nearby, and this led to the government's defeat in May.

MSPs for areas facing the loss of a local court complained on grounds of centralisation and access to justice but the government defended the plan, citing cost, efficiency and workload.

Mr MacAskill argued that the closure-listed courts were little used and in buildings that would require about 800,000 each to be brought up to modern standards.

He also said that closure plans were a consequence of reforms to the court system launched by the previous Scottish Executive – in which Ms Jamieson was justice minister.

He said: "I have very carefully considered all the views previously expressed in this committee, and believe the proposal represents the best arrangement for the provision of summary courts."

However, Ms Jamieson, MSP for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, said the Girvan closure was opposed locally as centralisation, adding : "I don't think this is simply about buildings, it's not simply about the location of court premises.

"I believe it is about access to justice and ensuring local communities feel they can see justice being done – that they can see the operation of their own courts, that they will be able to go to court to see what happens."

The order approved by MSPs also involves the closure of East Kilbride district court, whose work will transfer to the Hamilton JP court.