Ministers need to give more thought to honorary sheriff abolition plans — McArthur

Scottish Government plans to abolish the system of honorary sheriffs were raised in parliament yesterday afternoon, Wednesday.

During Justice Questions, Orkney MSP Liam McArthur urged Roseanna Cunningham, the minister responsible for the Court Reform Bill, to clarify how this would work in practice, particularly in rural and island areas.

In response, Ms Cunningham confirmed that no changes would be introduced until suitable alternative measures were in place but offered to write to Mr McArthur with further detail of what was proposed.

“Fears have been raised that simply abolishing the system of honorary sheriffs could create practical difficulties in places like Orkney, not least for police requiring warrants to be signed,” Mr McArthur said.

“The minister suggested that improvements in technology and changes to working practices will eventually address these problems, though the cost of this is likely to be high.

“Ms Cunningham also sought to reassure me that honorary sheriffs will remain in post until all the changes have been implemented.  It is not clear, however, if new honorary sheriffs will continue to be appointed in the meantime. If not, this could still present problems where those currently in place are looking to scale back the amount of work they take on.

Mr McArthur added: “Prior consultation on these proposals appears to have been inadequate, but I welcome the minister’s willingness to reflect further on how, if these plans are to go ahead, the specific challenges facing places like Orkney can be more fully addressed.”