The Scottish Government

« Previous | Contents | Next »

Listen

4.(v) JUSTICE

Introduction

The Justice portfolio includes the administration of criminal justice and civil law, operation of the courts, provision of legal aid and liaison with the legal profession. It also covers the operation of the police, prison and fire services and an overview of preparations for potential civil emergencies.

Policy Context

The Justice investment plan supports the Scottish Government's Purpose and Strategic Objectives - in particular, making Scotland's communities safer and stronger. By doing so, we aim to help communities to flourish, becoming stronger, safer places to live, offering improved opportunities and a better quality of life.

The investment within the Justice portfolio comprises both direct public funding of projects in addition to private sector investment in public infrastructure which is paid for over the duration of the concession. Table 4(v).1 summarises the forecast investment within the Justice portfolio split by sector.

Table 4(v).1: Forecast Infrastructure Investment - Justice

The remainder of this chapter provides details on the individual investment projects that are forecast within Courts, Fire, Police and Prisons.

Public Investment in Infrastructure

Table 4(v).2 details the public funds that have been allocated to the Justice portfolio, by sector, in the Spending Review 2007 and also a forecast of the public funds required to finance future projects from 2011-12 onwards.

Table 4(v).2: Justice: Forecast Infrastructure Investment - Public Funding

The spatial distribution of projects with a capital value over £5 million is highlighted within the following map with details of individual projects being summarised within Table 4(v).3.

Table 4(v).3: Justice Projects - Publicly Funded in excess of £5m

The total value indicated in the above table is inclusive of capital costs incurred prior to 2008-09. An overview of each of the major projects included in the portfolio is provided below:

Courts

The Scottish Court Service ( SCS) investment plan includes three major projects:

• The redevelopment of Parliament House, home to the Court of Session. This project will take around 6 years to complete and will see the replacement of the building's infrastructure services and refurbishment of the majority of court rooms as well as upgrades to judicial and administrative accommodation.
• The redevelopment of Dumbarton Sheriff Court. This project will complete during 2008-09 and will see the complete refurbishment and extension of Dumbarton Sheriff Court, replacing four existing buildings and incorporating sufficient capacity to absorb the work of the District Court that will move to SCS through a Court Unification programme under the Scottish Government's Summary Justice Reform programme.
• Court Unification and Fines. The Summary Justice Reform programme will result in SCS taking on the work of District Courts currently run by local authorities. Where possible, SCS will absorb this work into existing Sheriff Court buildings or where that does not prove possible, by upgrading District Court buildings to adequate standards. This work will continue through the life of the project and upgrades will be delivered on a phased geographical basis.

Looking beyond 2011-12, the longer-term investment plan for Courts is expected to focus on a number of key locations such as Inverness, Fife and Lanarkshire where early feasibility studies are underway to determine the best solution to meet future court capacity needs. These studies will also involve extensive discussions with other justice partners to ensure the most efficient and operationally desirable solutions are considered. Work will also be undertaken to develop and deliver solutions for criminal appeal business in Edinburgh and the future use of the Glasgow District Court building.

Fire

The Fire investment plan comprises the following major projects:

• Firelink is a GB-wide project which will deliver a modern and highly resilient radio system for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Services ( FRSs) in partnership with their counterparts in England and Wales. It will replace FRSs current aging system with a modern, nationally integrated and highly resilience system. It will provide a high level of functionality enabling FRSs to deliver a better, safer and more efficient service, including the ability to communicate seamlessly with other blue light services. It will also provide a higher level of resilience to address major national and local emergencies.
• Fire LA Capital Grant is a budget of £24.6 million per annum which supports FRSs' capital investments. This grant is held centrally and allocated on the basis of a 'top slice' element awarded on the assessment of bids for funding specific projects and the remainder is distributed on the basis of a formula allocation. The bids for top slice are assessed against a set of specific Scottish Government priorities - national resilience; invest to save initiatives; investment in training facilities; and, initiatives to support and develop the use of the retained duty system.

Police

The Police investment plan includes the following major projects:

• The Scottish Government is developing plans for a Scottish Crime Campus at Gartcosh which will include a new HQ for the Serious Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency ( SCDEA) and a new forensic laboratory for the West of Scotland.

• Proposals are being developed for a new Forensic Laboratory at Dundee. This project is at an early planning stage and the costs for each year and the completion date are not yet known.

Over the longer term, the Scottish Government anticipate a requirement for sustained investment in police information and communication technology to support effective front line policing. This investment will be required to both ensure convergence of existing systems and to provide new systems and equipment as technology advances. Three projects are currently underway covering national infrastructure, command and control and performance management. Scoping for the next group of projects including mobile data, information management and custody management is already well advanced.

Prisons

The Scottish Prison Service ( SPS) investment plan comprises of a number of major development projects which aim to create a modern fit-for-purpose prison estate:

• The Scottish Prison Service ( SPS) is currently redeveloping four key establishments - HMP Edinburgh, HMP Glenochil, HMP Perth and HMYOI Polmont - involving the provision of modern replacement prisoner accommodation and regime facilities. These projects are being carried out by Framework contractors appointed by SPS with the final phase at each site being scheduled for completion between 2009 and 2010.
• The Cabinet Secretary for Justice announced in August 2007 that the proposed new prison at Bishopbriggs would be designed and built by the private sector and funded and operated by the public sector on completion. SPS secured outline planning permission in 2007 for the proposed development which will be built on the site of the former HMP Low Moss and adjacent land which is owned by SPS. The procurement process to appoint a design and build contractor for the 700 cell development will be conducted during 2008-09 with a view to commencing the construction works in 2009-10 and HMP Bishopbriggs opening as soon as possible thereafter.
• The Cabinet Secretary for Justice also announced in 2007 that a new prison ( HMP Grampian) would be built in the Peterhead area to replace the existing HMP Aberdeen and HMP Peterhead. SPS is currently preparing for the commencement of the procurement process for this project, which will require planning permission and possibly the acquisition of a suitable site. The above public capital expenditure and timing profile for this project is therefore provisional at this stage. If possible, subject to site, planning and operational considerations, SPS will be seeking to bring forward the delivery of this project to replace the out-of-date facilities at the existing prisons. SPS expects to appoint a design and build contractor for the development, with the prison being operated by the SPS.
• In addition to the above developments, SPS will be continuing the modernisation of the rest of the prison estate in Scotland. It is anticipated that these projects will be spread across the country and will replace existing prisoner accommodation capacity and facilities with modern fit-for-purpose facilities. SPS expects to appoint one or more contractors to design and build these developments with the prisons being funded and operated by the SPS. Planning is underway and the commencement of these projects will take account of the timing and funding profile of the planned prisons, HMP Bishopbriggs and HMP Grampian.

Beyond 2011-12, we expect to continue investment in prisons to complete the modernisation of the prison estate. This will involve replacing or upgrading the remainder of our old and unfit prisons with new fit-for-purpose facilities that support the Scottish Government's objective of making Scotland's communities safer and stronger. We would expect such investment to support work with prisoners which aims to reduce the risk of prisoners re offending on release from custody and the level of investment to provide the necessary capacity to accommodate the demand for prisoner places over this period. Future investment will also need to take account of emerging legal requirements in relation to the standard of facilities to be provided to prisoners during custody.

Private Expenditure on Public Infrastructure

Table 4(v).4 details the total estimated private sector investment in public infrastructure within the Justice portfolio.

Table 4(v).4 Justice Projects - Privately Funded in excess of £5m

Prisons

A contract was awarded by Scottish Ministers in June 2006 to Addiewell Prison Limited ( APL) to design, construct, manage and finance a 700-place prison at Addiewell, West Lothian. The prison, which is scheduled to open in December 2008, will be operated by APL with the contract being managed by SPS on behalf of Scottish Ministers. The infrastructure investment to be provided by the private sector is estimated to be around £80 million.

Summary

The Justice investment plan includes increased capital investment to make Scotland's communities safer and stronger. The planned investment in courts, fire, police and prisons builds on the infrastructure investments that are currently in progress and future projects are being developed to align with the Scottish Government's Purpose and Strategic Objectives. Arrangements are also being developed to coordinate the overall Justice investment programme to ensure that Best Value is delivered across the portfolio.

« Previous | Contents | Next »