Members' Business — S6M-07327 Liam Kerr: Scotland’s Courts Maintenance Backlog

That the Parliament notes reports that there is a £7.3 million maintenance backlog across Scotland’s courts, including courts in the north east, such as in Forfar and Peterhead; recognises that repairs to Scotland’s courts often require closures, which can add to the already large number of outstanding criminal trials, which, it understands, currently stands at 30,588 trials; acknowledges that the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service had its capital budget frozen in 2022-23; believes that this hindered its ability to tackle the backlog; welcomes the budget increase planned for the financial year 2023-24, and notes the calls on the Scottish Government to work with the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service to outline how much of the current maintenance backlog will be tackled with the budget outlined for 2023-24, and how much will remain.