THE Justice Secretary has sparked fury by pressing ahead with local court closures just days after the move was recommended to widespread dismay.
Kenny MacAskill has approved plans to shut 10 sheriff courts and seven justice of the peace courts, saving £4 million in running and maintenance costs.
The Cabinet Secretary said this money would be better spent on improving services and facilities at a smaller number of courts. He argued the "fragmented and outdated" system was no longer sustainable.
"Having given full and careful consideration of the Scottish Court Service's recommendations and examined the analysis on the potential impact of these proposals, I believe that given the financial constraints we are all working under, these changes are justified," he said.
Labour's Lewis Macdonald called the announcement "a slap in the face for all the local communities affected" and said the speed with which it had been rushed through showed the Scottish Court Service was simply doing the Government's bidding.
He added: "Only on Tuesday, Kenny Macaskill said he'd give proper consideration of the impact the closures would have on access to justice and on local economies. That proper consideration has taken him just three days.
"All those local communities and elected representatives who wanted to make a case for their local court, including members of his own party, have been told that they needn't bother: ministers have their minds made up."
Alison McInnes of the Liberal Democrats said MSPs and MPs should fight the decision. She said: "Kenny MacAskill doesn't care about local courts but it's time for local SNP MSPs to show that they do. They have it in their power to save the local court in their area."
The PCS union also criticised the announcement, with Scottish secretary Lynn Henderson saying: "The Scottish Courts Service and the minister claim no-one will lose their job because of these closures but some staff stand to lose substantial sums of money if their court closes.
"The Justice Secretary must ensure the guarantee of no compulsory redundancy is met and that staff are not forced to give up their job if their court closes and their job relocated."
Mr MacAskill insisted: "The volume of business carried out in the sheriff courts recommended for closure is around 5% of the total business, which SCS is confident can be dealt with within a smaller number of better equipped courts.
"Indeed, the introduction of a new, secure live-link video-conferencing network in six northern courts and four other locations, due to be completed next month, will give criminal justice organisations the opportunity to use new technology for some cases, instead of participants having to travel to court."
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