Two councillors want reassurances from Scotland’s Justice Secretary over plans to move jury trials out of the region.
Jane Maitland and independent colleague Iain Howie have hit out at plans by the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service to move trials from Dumfries and Stranraer to the central belt due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The service claims the move is necessary as the pandemic has created a backlog of cases.
But the councillors fear it could lead to the temporary move becoming permanent and have tabled a motion for Thursday’s full council meeting calling for the local authority to write to Humza Yousaf about their concerns.
Councillor Maitland said: “The council was not told about this. I would have thought at the very least they would have been told through the police, fire and rescue service.
“It is not fair on people who live in rural areas who are already at a disadvantage because of where they live. Can you imagine someone from Langholm having to travel to Ayr?
“They will say it was to tackle a backlog, well this backlog was there long before Covid and we shouldn’t be sacrificed because they couldn’t get their act together.”
It emerged last month that the service planned to move trials as it would cost £40,000 for a Covid-safe environment if a jury was required at one of the region’s sheriff courts.
The move was slammed by the legal community, with Dumfries solicitor Ranald Lindsay saying it could create a “Covid motorway” at a time when travel restrictions are in place.
In their motion, Councillors Maitland and Howie say that “remote jury centres” are to be created at cinemas in Ayr and East Kilbride.
But they claim the council has not been told of the changes and there is no explanation as to how the hubs have been chosen.
They are also concerned there is no “published risk assessment” of how people will travel between local authority areas in different tiers of the coronavirus restriction system.
They state: “The council is committed to campaigning for the decentralisation of publicly funded services to our region. The move to these regional hubs may result in a publicly funded service leaving our region if we do not act now.”
They also want to see evidence that led to the proposal being considered “a best value solution to the problem of case backlog”.
